


A Thimble

by deanatemytailor



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angry/Happy Claire, Blow Jobs, Canon verse, Case Fic, Castiel/Dean Winchester First Kiss, Changelings, Christmas Epilogue, Disneyland, Feelings Recovery, Fireworks, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Magical, Peter Pan - Freeform, Post Ep 4 Season 11, Resort Hotel, Sam Winchester and Claire Novak are friends, Season 11, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, castle - Freeform, happy fic, rides, romantic, theme park
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:21:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 49,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5136185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanatemytailor/pseuds/deanatemytailor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean decides to head to Disneyland for a vacation, yet it seems the life just can't shake him. Fun ensues, but a couple of kidnappings turn the magical vacation into yet another case. While having fun, Dean, Sam, Cas and Claire must find the monster of the week and kill it while enjoying their much needed vacation. On top of that, the park seems to be working its magic on Dean, because love is in the air.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you love anything Disney, Dean, Cas and a whole lot of fun, please take a gander at this fanfic!  
> Once upon a time...

           

"I'm feeling happy...which is a big deal for me." -Marlin, Finding Nemo

* * *

 

           

            Dean pushed open the heavy door leading into the bunker and clunked down the stairs, mud caking each step as he went. He was exhausted and craving a beer even though he had a stomach ache from eating too much take-out over the past couple of days.

            Sam followed behind. He was also tired, but he remained calm and not so dramatic about the situation. He closed the door behind him and descended the stairs lightly. Dean was already in the kitchen by that time and the bunker was silent, save for the beeps and white noise coming from the machinery lying around.

            Sam set his bags on the table with the map of the world and squinted his eyes as he looked around. He wondered where Cas was.

            Dean re-entered the room with the neck of a beer in his dirt-caked hand. He sighed after chugging down half of the liquid and placed the bottle on the counter. When he noticed Sam was looking at him with intent, Dean raised his eyes in an attempt to ask him what was up.

            “Have you seen Cas?” Sam asked him as he dug his phone out of his back pocket.

            Dean shrugged and looked down at his beer. “Probably sleeping or watching Netflix or something.”

            Sam thought for a moment, picked up his bags, and then began walking. “I’m gonna go check to make sure he’s here.”

            “Little antsy, aren’t ya?” Dean asked him, sitting down.

            “Well, yeah,” Sam informed him, stopping at the opening to the hallway. “Last time we left Cas alone he went all rabid psycho and almost attacked a girl and succeeded in attacking you. Safe to say I’m a little worried.” He bitch faced at Dean and then left the room.

            The hallway was quiet and Sam let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in when he saw a light peeking out through his own bedroom door. He knocked and then pushed it open.

            Cas was on Sam’s bed, wearing a matching set of pajamas with a bowl of popcorn on his lap. There were obscene noises coming from the TV. Sam furrowed his eyebrows, not really wanting to know what Cas was watching.

            “Hiya Cas,” Sam said. Cas turned and smiled.

            Sam dared a look, and _Orange is the New Black_ was playing on the big screen TV. Two women were having sex in a shower stall.

            Sam cleared his throat. “I see you’re enjoying free TV shows,” he said.

            Cas nodded. “Yes, this show is very intriguing. I would never want to go to prison.”

            Sam snorted. “Trust me, you don’t.”

            Cas smiled fondly and him and paused the show. “I’m sure you would like your room back. You look exhausted.”

            Sam nodded. “Yeah, a little. The uh… ‘Ghoul-pires’, as Dean called them, were not all that easy to kill. How about you, though? Did you get some rest? Are you feeling better?”

            Cas nodded. “Yesterday I went out and purchased some supplies for you and Dean and I saw these pajamas and bought them. I hope Dean doesn’t mind I used his money for them, but sleeping in my other clothes made my skin itchy.”

            Sam held his hands up. “Understandable, Cas. Don’t worry about it."

            Cas rolled himself off of Sam’s bed and handed him the remote. “I’ll go out and see Dean.”

            Sam smiled. “Of course.”

            Before he left, he placed two gentle fingers on Sam’s forehead and all the aches and pains and dried blood on his face were instantly cleaned. Sam dropped a hand on Cas’s shoulder.

            “Thanks, man. If you don’t mind, go clean Dean up, too. He got pretty banged up this week.”

            Cas smiled and left the room.

 

            Dean was well into his second beer when Cas appeared. He nodded to the angel, tipping his beer bottle in salute as well. Cas ignored it and rounded the table to Dean. The human appeared taken aback as Cas closed the space between them. He pressed his palms to either of Dean’s cheeks and a small blast of light protruded from his hands and instantly cleared Dean’s face of blemishes.

            Dean’s green eyes widened and Cas backed away.

            “I had to do something before you told me no. I don’t care this time around.” Cas ran his eyes around Dean's face, making sure he didn't miss anything.

            Dean looked up at Cas, thanking him without words. He stood up.

            “Do you…want a beer or something?”

            Cas shook his head. “No thank you. I tried one of them this weekend and I had to throw it out.”

            Dean turned around. “That’s a waste.” Since he was joking, Cas decided to reply in kind.

            “Buy better alcohol,” Cas informed him. A smirk stretched its way onto Dean’s mouth and he ended up huffing a laugh.

            “Good to see you, man.”

            Cas sat down and Dean followed suit since Cas denied the invitation for beer.

            “I see that your week was unlike you perceived it to be,” Cas stated. Dean nodded and pointed his beer bottle to Cas.

            “I see that you decided to do a little night clothes shopping.”

            Dean studied the little owl on the green and blue flannel top that matched the bottoms. Cas smiled.

            “Yes, they are quite comfy.”

            “They look it,” Dean replied. “And yeah, Sammy and I had quite the week. Also, Baby took a beating and she needs to be fixed up. I, however, have absolutely no motivation after the week I’ve had.”

            Cas shrugged. “I’ll fix her.”

            Dean leaned back in his chair. “The question is, do I trust you enough to fix her?”

            Cas rolled his eyes, which reminded Dean of his brother when he was younger. He chuckled half-heartedly and sighed.

            “Honestly Cas, I think we need a vacation. All of us.”

            Cas raised his eyebrows. Dean nodded.

            “Yeah, I know. I’d never say that. This time I’m serious though. I just freaking got rid of the Mark and now we have ‘the Darkness’ taking over the world and I haven’t had a single break. That’s on me, obviously, but I’m starting to feel it now. I saw a grey hair in the mirror today, Cas. A grey hair. And no shitty motel room mirror is bad enough to fake that.” Dean took a sip of his beer. “And you. You just got off this attack dog spell and you need to relax and have fun. Without watching twenty-four hours of Netflix. I’m sure Sammy could use it, too. I just found out he got affected by the sickness thing that was making people go crazy. Somehow he got it to go away.” Cas’s eyes grew wide at this new information. Dean shook his head and hand. “Just ignore it. I have no more tidbits on that information and I was a bit mad at Sammy to have him continue. Besides, he’s fine now so I’m not complaining about that. Either way, we all need a vacation.”

            Cas nodded. “Okay.”

            Dean leaned forward in his seat and sighed. “Okay? You’re not gonna come back with an explanation as to why this is the worst idea in the world?” Dean waved his hand as if motioning Cas to spew words. “C’mon Cas, you’re supposed to be my foil here. Oppose my statement. Tell me it’s wrong.”

            Cas shrugged. “I can’t, Dean. I think it is a great idea. I agree that we all need a little relaxing time. However, I am unsure of where we would go.”

            Dean smiled. “This is really happening,” he said.

            Cas nodded. “Why not? A couple of days won’t hurt. Besides, that’s how long between cases you normally wait. Why not do it in a place you have treated yourself to?”

            Dean nodded. “Damn straight.”

            “Where would we go?” Cas asked, squirming in his seat.

            Dean shrugged. “Not sure. Sammy and I have been all over the US, but we’ve never gotten to stay in one place for long. We could go to Mexico, I guess, but Sam probably wouldn’t be too intrigued by that prospect. He doesn’t like lying about his identity when bringing our sorry asses to a different country. I don’t know if he’s superstitious or what. You have any suggestions? You’re awfully squeamish.” Dean smirked.

            Cas nodded and began gesticulating wildly with his words. “Well, over the weekend I was reading some op-eds online.” At this, Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. “There was this very intriguing paper about Disneyland and how it’s basically its own world. There was this interesting theory that when people go to Disneyland, they enter a new place where nothing exists but said world. They have their own towns and everything a person needs is provided there. People become so engrossed with the world that they forget all that happens outside. I read, and don’t quote me on this, that even airplanes aren’t allowed to fly over it. Perhaps it is so people aren’t drawn outside of this cartoonish world.

            “If you want a vacation, I would suggest Disneyland because not only is it one of the most safest places on earth, it is also peaceful and fun and the beds look comfy and are fairly cheap for being a resort of sorts.” Cas exhaled deeply and Dean was silent for a moment before bursting into laughter.

            “Oh my God, Cas,” Dean said, wiping at his eyes, “that was great.”

            Cas’s mouth quirked up at the corner. “What?”

            Dean leaned back in his chair. “That very persuasive speech. That info was nailed to a T, Cas. How long have you been researching Disneyland?”

            Cas dropped his eyes to his fumbling hands. “A couple of days. I saw a documentary about Walt Disney on Netflix and I was hooked.”

            Dean stared at Cas in wonder. “That’s great, Cas. And actually, I think that would be a great idea. Sam’s always wanted to go. Dad told us he’d take us when we were little but he never got around to it. Maybe we should go.”

            Cas’s face lit up a bit.

            “Only issue is,” Dean began, and Cas’s face faltered. “We’d need a young person to go, too. It’s weird if three grown men go to a theme park built mostly for kids.”

            “But Dean,” Cas started, “Walt Disney said ‘I make them for the child in all of us, whether he be six or sixty’.”

            Dean raised his eyebrows. “You memorized that by watching a documentary?”

            Cas sighed and stood up. “Sometimes you’re really simple, Dean.” Dean scrunched up his face, taken aback. “You forget I’m an Angel of the Lord quite frequently. I have a brain capacity you can’t even begin to fathom.”  

            “And yet you put your tie on backwards,” Dean muttered.

            Cas looked him scornfully and rounded the table. “I heard that. Also, since I am an Angel of the Lord and have many capabilities, I am going outside to fix your precious car.”

            Dean raised his hand as if to protest and Cas shushed him before he could talk. “Don't worry, Dean. I understand how much she means to you and I would never harm her. Go get some rest. You look tired.”

            Dean smirked. “I was just gonna say,” Dean tossed Cas the jingling keys, “don’t forget to take her out to get gas when you’re done.”

            Cas’s eyes widened in shock and Dean smirked at the angel’s face as he stood up from his rickety seat. “And yes, I am tired. I’ll hit the hay. We’ll talk more about our vacation in the morning.”

            Cas nodded and Dean winked at him before heading back to the hallway with his bags in tow. Cas looked down at the keys in his hand and then squeezed them. Something going on lately had made him feel a whole lot more welcome and accepted in the lives of the Winchesters, and for the first time in a long time, he felt like a part of a family again.


	2. Chapter 2

 

"Adventure is out there!" -Ellie, Up

 

* * *

 

 

           Dean yawned into the darkness of his room and turned on his side. He clicked his phone on and it blared back at him: 11:48. Damn. He hadn’t slept in this long for a while. He stretched, making strenuous noises as he did so, and then dropped his feet to the cold, concrete floor. He yawned for a second time and stood up, yanking his sweatshirt out of his drawer on his way out the door.

            He could hear Sam and Cas’s voices out in the main room, so he padded out there.

            Cas and Sam were sitting across from each other staring down at a book between them. Sam had a wild grin on his face and Cas was pointing something out on the book. Dean shuffled up onto the platform and Cas looked over at him, his face free of stress and a grin widening.

            “Hello Dean,” Cas greeted. “Are you hungry?”

            Dean looked down at his tummy and pursed his lips. “I could eat.”

            Cas nodded and disappeared from his seat, the sound of wings announcing his exit from the room.

            Dean rounded the corner and took Cas’s spot. Sam was still studying the tome, not even bothering to greet his brother.

            Dean rested his chin in his hands and dropped his eyes to whatever Sam and the angel were looking at. He snorted.

            “Oh, seriously!” Dean exclaimed. He gripped the book in his hands and turned it around to get a better look. “Cas is buttering you up.”

            Sam bitch faced at Dean, his hands resting in mid air where the book once was. Dean leaned closer to the picture.

            “Twenty five secrets about Disneyland!” He skimmed through a couple of the facts and stopped at number thirteen. “The Matterhorn has a basketball court in it. That’s actually pretty interesting.”

            Hands wrapped around the book and took it away from Dean. Sam closed it, dust flying in the air as he did so. Dean wondered how long Sam had the book. The Men of Letters obviously hadn't collected information on a park that wasn't even built yet. The fact that the book had dust on it meant Sam had owned it for a while now. Dean palmed his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them. It was at that time Cas decided to show up. He walked up to Dean and set a tray of food down in front of him. Orange juice, four pieces of fatty bacon, hash browns and a pancake. He looked up at Cas.

            “You make this?”

            Cas nodded. “I perfected it while you and Sam were away. This was why I had to go shopping.”

            Dean poured copious amounts of maple syrup onto the pancake and doused the hash browns with ketchup, which Cas somehow knew he would need. He took a bite of the hash browns.

            The noise he made after biting into the heavenly potatoes was obscene. Cas chuckled.

            “Dammit Cas. This is fantastic. You tryin’ to get me to hate greasy diner food?”

            “I sure hope so,” Sam muttered grumpily.

            Dean shoved half a piece of bacon in his mouth while Cas took a seat next to him. “What’s up his ass?”

            Sam set the book down on the table. “Nothing is up my ass, Dean. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

            Dean raised his eyebrow. “That so?”

            Sam sighed. “I got those visions again.”

            Dean stopped mid-chew and turned slightly to look at Cas.

            “The hellish ones?”

            Sam nodded.

            “Fuck,” Dean muttered under his breath. When Sam told him about his nightmares the first time, he was a little hesitant about Sam's interpretation of them. He figured they were nightmares, plain and simple. But for the past week Sam had dreamed about the same thing each night. It was starting to grate on Dean's nerves because Sam hadn't had dreams like these for years. Since Lucifer. After Sam woke up breathing heavily halfway through the week, Dean realized they obviously meant something. He still denied it to his brother because it was his job to make sure Sam was okay. He didn't want him to freak out or follow these dreams, in a sense. Being in the bunker and having these dreams though...well, that was the last straw. He stood up and clapped his hands together twice to get the crumbs off of them. “That’s it. Get your bags packed. We’re going to Disneyland.”

            Sam looked up at his brother, curiously.

            “What?” Dean asked him.

            Sam shrugged. “You’re not one to jump into things right away.”

            “That was before my baby brother started getting evil visions again. Besides, I like seeing Cas get all worked up about a kid park.”

            Cas blushed and Dean chuckled, setting a hand on his shoulder, the stiff air in the room dissipating as Dean made light of the situation.

            “Sam, get ready. I’m gonna finish this fan-damn-tastic breakfast, and Cas…”

            Cas stared up at Dean, intent. “Can you fly yourself over to South Dakota and get Claire? She’s kid enough, right?”

            Cas nodded. “I’m sure she would enjoy going with us. It may take me a while to get there. I can only fly for so far before I grow weak.”

            Dean patted Cas on the back. "No worries, man. Do what you can."

            Cas stood up and smiled tight-lipped at Dean before flying off. Dean turned back to Sam, who had the Disneyland book clutched tightly to his chest.

            Sam’s eyes fell to Dean’s. “Dean, thank you.”

            “Shaddap. Go get your fandom clothes and your camera. C’mon.” Dean shooed him as he joked, but Sam ignored it and shot him a thankful look before heading into the hallway.

            Dean sat down and finished his quickly cooling breakfast. He wasn’t lying. This was honestly one of the better breakfasts he’d had in his life.

 

            Close to an hour later, Cas appeared in the main room with windswept hair and his ruffled looking trench coat. Claire was next to him with an oversized duffel bag and purse. She had an annoyed look on her face but Dean was pretty used to the scowl so he overlooked it. Her hair was back in a ponytail and she wore a grungy Bruce Springsteen shirt and skinny jeans and boots. Dean smiled politely at her and Cas let out a deep breath, winded from his trip.

            “You must visit the sheriff's soon, Dean,” Cas said, exasperated. He placed a hand on the small of Claire’s back to lead her to a seat. She glared at him, but ultimately followed and sat down in the wooden seat he offered.

            Dean finished the rest of his beer. “Why?”

            Cas ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “Sheriff Donna was visiting Jody and she began interrogating me about you and would not leave me alone. I just met her, Dean!” Cas’s voice was stern and he couldn’t help but to laugh at his exasperation.

            “Why does she wanna know how I’m doing?” Dean asked Cas, zipping up his duffel.

            Claire snapped her gum and looked up at him through dark eyelashes. “She has a freaky crush on you.”

            Dean blushed and Claire smirked.

            “Well I guess I’m flattered then,” Dean offered, the shock slowly wearing off.

            Claire set her phone down on the table. “She always tells Jody to come visit you. I like her though. Just don’t understand what she sees in you.”

            Dean reeled back. “Excuse me! I’m a handsome guy. Right Cas?”

            Cas clenched his jaw. “Um…yes?”

            “See,” Dean told her.

            Claire shrugged. “I dunno. I think if she had to choose out of the two of you, she should choose Sam. You’re kind of a loser. Like a dad almost.”

            Sam chose this moment to walk into the room and he choked on his water as he laughed.

            “Thanks Claire,” Sam said when he got control of his face again. She saluted him and went back to her phone.

            Dean turned to Cas. “Hey. Here.” Dean tossed him his extra duffel and Cas frowned at the heavy object in his hand.

            “What is this?”

            “Clothes. No offense, man, but the whole tax accountant thing doesn’t really go with a theme park. Also, it’s gonna be hot so you should at least look the part.” Cas rested his eyes on Dean. “Don’t worry,” he joked, “I packed your matching jammies, too." Cas furrowed his brow as Claire looked up at him questioningly. Sam clapped his hands together.

            “We ready to go?”

            Dean nodded. “Think so. Claire?”

            “I’m along for the ride. An angel showed up and told me I was going to Disneyland. I wasn’t gonna decline a free vacation away from wack-o Donna and hard-ass Jody. Seriously, one day Jody is gonna kill Donna.”

            Dean chuckled and Sam nodded. “Yeah,” Sam said, “Jody likes her, but she’s not a happy camper. She’s kind of like you.”

            Claire nodded and her lips quirked down. “Good point.”

            Dean picked up her duffle. “Alright. Let’s head out.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Do ya need a break from modern livin'?  
Do ya long to shed your weary load?  
If your nerves are raw  
And your brain is fried  
Just grab a friend and take a ride  
Together upon the open road. - Goofy, A Goofy Movie

* * *

 

 

The trek to California was spent mostly in silence. The purr of the Impala and the sound of asphalt grinding underneath her tires was regularly what filled the air. Dean had one of his tracks on, but it wasn’t loud enough to surround the entire car. Sam was listening to his iPod in the passenger seat and he was mouthing words to whatever he was listening to. Claire, too, was listening to her music. (Probably angsty shit, Dean thought). Cas, however, was ear bud free. He spent most of the drive through Kansas with a hand underneath his chin, elbow propped up on the window. He watched the grass and trees go by. Dean would occasionally take a peek at the angel, making sure he was doing fine and was still alive since he was utterly silent.

            It was a twenty-two hour drive, and that didn’t even include the bathroom breaks and the stops for meals. Sam was having to go every couple of hours and Claire made it a point to inform Dean she was on her period so when she needed to stop, he _would_ stop. Dean did not argue this notion.

            They would have to get a motel room for the night. At the pace they were going they would arrive in Disneyland tomorrow evening. This was way too long for a Winchester ride, and not only that, they still had to bullshit their way into a hotel in the first place. The guy for weaseling their way through that would hopefully not be sleeping when they arrived. The full moon wasn't this week, right? Sam would have to ask Dean when he woke up from his nap.

            They stopped halfway through Colorado in Denver. Dean booked them two rooms in a shitty motel and then they all went out to eat a late dinner at a shady looking diner. They were all exhausted, and Dean’s eyes were playing tricks on him because he was staring at the road all day. He’d have to make Sam drive for a little while tomorrow.

            Dean ordered a big, greasy hamburger and Claire and Cas followed suit. Sam ordered himself an omelet, and Dean wasn’t going to argue this time since he switched it up from salad.

            “How’re you holding up, Claire?” Dean questioned the teen after sipping on some of his Coke. She shrugged.

            “So far on this trip or in general?”

            Dean shrugged.

            “Both,” he offered. She looked out the window to her right. Cas turned his head to stare at her.

            “On this trip? Fine. Your car is uncomfortable.” Dean noticeably winced and Sam rolled his eyes. “In general, I’m okay. I like Jody and Donna. I have to like Donna...she visits _all the time._ And I like the college I’m at. The people are stupid and annoying, but classes are okay. I don’t really get along with Alex but she has her friends and I have mine.”

            Sam smiled genuinely at her and she turned to face him. “Claire, that’s great.”

            She nodded slightly at him. “It’s weird because I have never even thought about going to college, but it’s probably for the better, anyway.”

            Sam nodded. “Definitely. Get your degree in whatever you want, but you should get one.”

            Dean scrunched his face in. “I only ever got a GED.”

            “Yeah, but at least you _made_ it through high school. You could have quit sooner. Anyway, hunting doesn’t really need a resume, does it?” Sam proposed.

            Dean huffed and bit his cheek. The food was taking awfully long to cook and he was drained. He turned to Cas.

            “You’re pretty quiet there, Cas,” Dean said. “What’s the word?”

            Cas smirked and folded his hands in his lap. “Nothing. I am just listening.”

            “No, I mean, how are you doing?”

            Cas dropped his eyes. “Compared to being under a spell, I feel fantastic. I’m mostly weary.”

            Dean raised his glass a little. “You and me both, buddy.”

            At this point in time, the waitress finally brought them their food. Dean dug into his before she could even say ‘enjoy’, and by the end of the meal his plate was clean, save for ketchup pools.

            Sam shot him a disgusted look, but Dean was proud of himself. He hadn’t been that hungry in a while. Cas, too, finished his entire burger, but his plate still had a handful of fries.

            “Cas, eat your vegetables,” Dean ordered. Cas looked down at his food and squinted and then shook his head.

            “Full,” he offered in response. Dean chuckled and plucked one right off the angel’s plate.

            After dinner, Sam paid and then they all headed back to the motel. Dean and Sam entered their room and the older Winchester fell onto his bed and instantly passed out, shoes on and everything.

 

            Dean woke up to Sam’s blaring alarm. He startled and sat up, gun in hand. Sam chuckled from the seat by the window. He had his Disneyland guidebook open and while reading it he was flossing his teeth. Dean groaned and tossed the gun to the side. He wiped his hands down his scratchy cheeks and yawned.

            “Time is it?” Dean muttered. His eyes were drooping with sleep and his hair was standing on end. A bit of sunlight peeked through the window and sliced across his leg in a wide angle.

            Sam eyed his watch. “6:01. Get ready so we can head out.”

            Dean fell back onto the bed and closed his eyes. “Fine, but you’re driving.”

            Sam didn’t answer, but he knew it was a yes. He slowly rolled off the side of the bed and opened his duffle to pull out a black t-shirt and some jeans and boxers. He shook his head at Sammy’s reading material when he rounded his way into the bathroom to take a shower.

            They met Cas and Claire by the Impala. Cas had on a Pink Floyd t-shirt of Dean’s and some old beat up jeans. He didn’t look half bad and Dean blushed when Cas noticed him staring at the outfit.

            Sam strolled into the office to check them out. Dean walked up to Cas and nodded in greeting.

            “How was your night?”

            “Awful,” Claire answered. Dean furrowed his brow at her. Her doe eyes looked up at him. “Your angel here snores like nobody’s business. I didn’t fall asleep until well after two.”

            Dean's eyes fell on Cas who had an expression of an apology on his face.

            “I mean, people snore, I get that,” Claire continued, “but when we get to Disneyland, I call sharing a room with Sam.”

            “Why?” Sam butted in, four coffees in hand. He passed them out before Claire answered.

            “Castiel snores and from what I could tell through those paper thin walls, either you or Dean does. Based on your diets, though, I assumed the snorer was Dean.”

            Dean coiled in on himself. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

            “You look great,” Claire said, eyeing him up and down, “but health wise, your brother is much better and that leads to a better nights sleep, which means no snoring.”

            Sam snorted. “Good observation, Claire. Dean does snore. I’ve gotten used to it though. But I’m down with that. Dean,” Sam asked, “you good with Cas when we get to Disneyland?”

            Dean turned to the angel and Cas offered no help whatsoever in the conversation.

            “Yeah, s’fine.”           

            He rounded the Impala to hop in shotgun but Claire called called it and ran past him. Dean was about to fight her on that and Sam told him she won fair and square. Dean was essentially forced into the back seat. Cas offered him a look of consolation and then the Impala was screeching onto the freeway.

            Dean fell asleep before they left Denver. He was still fatigued and being on the road added to the white noise that made him sleepy.

            He woke up near the border of Colorado and Utah and apologized awkwardly to Cas because sometime during his heavy nap, he decided he’d full on lay his torso down and rest his head on the angel’s lap. Cas told him he was fine, but Dean blushed nonetheless.

            Claire was sleeping, too, but she’d only gotten three hours or so during the night. Sam was whistling to a pop song playing on the radio, which Dean tuned out easily. Cas was staring out the window as he’d done all day yesterday. He was calm and quiet and he was honestly such a relaxing sight to behold. The only interference in his demeanor was the gentle tapping of his finger on his thigh.

            Dean averted his eyes from Cas and leaned forward, reaching his hand down to the middle seat between Sam and Claire to steal Sam’s cellphone. He opened it up and looked at the map.

            “Ten more hours?!” Dean exclaimed. “Fuuuuuuuuuck.”

            He dropped the phone onto the leather seat and leaned back. Sam stared at him through the rearview mirror, offering up no consolation. Cas was now staring at Dean with intent eyes, though. Dean pretended he didn’t notice.

            Cas abruptly reached for his jean pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He rifled through the home screen before clicking on an app. Dean spied through his peripheral vision, but he didn’t really need to. Cas set his phone down in between them and the screen said ‘The Game of Life’ in large, white letters. Dean furrowed his brow and looked at Cas.

            “Would you like to play?” Cas asked him.

            Dean pursed his lips in thought. Sam caught his eyes in the rearview mirror again, humor playing in them. Dean ignored him.

            “Sure,” he replied.

            They each picked their players and colors (Dean chose green and Cas blue) and then Cas decided to go to College and Dean didn’t.

            Cas’s profession was a lawyer and Dean reckoned he’d be an awful one if this game were real. Dean had a profession as an entertainer, which REALLY was so unlike the reality they lived in that he had a good chuckle.

            “Surprised fate didn’t give me the plumber.”

            “Yeah, you’d look great knee deep in other people’s shit, Dean,” Cas said bluntly and then Dean and Sam were howling with laughter, causing Claire to wake up. She was pissed, but Dean couldn’t stop laughing and Cas’s eyes were crinkled at the corner as he watched Dean’s happiness unfurl.

 

            They were now in Richfield, Utah, with seven hours to go. Dean and Cas had been through three games of life, and Claire played with them one round. Dean had won twice, _and_ he’d done it on the career path alone. Then again, it was mostly due to the ‘sue another player’ tiles he kept landing on. Either way, he won.

            Sam had offered Dean his driver’s spot, but Dean wasn’t really in the mood for driving. This was odd and he didn’t know why, but he was having a good time in the backseat now that he wasn’t bored or sleepy. He and Cas had moved onto the ABC game with signs, so they were both staring out the window, looking closely at each of the signs that whizzed by. Cas was winning as of now. He was on K and Dean was on H. Claire decided not to play. She was listening to music on her iPod. Sam was too. Apparently there was this cord thing that, when plugged in, would play Sam's music. Dean wasn't thrilled about it, but he easily drowned out the noise and focused on the yellowing Utah trees.

            “K-Mart,” Cas said simply. Dean growled and squinted at the upcoming sign as if focusing harder would give him an H.

            “Dean, I literally have seen two H’s in the past ten minutes,” Sam said, chuckling.

            “Shut up, Sammy. Eyes on the road.”

            Dean could almost feel the bitch face.

            “Lowes.”

            “Dammit Cas! Slow down!” Dean exclaimed.

            “Home Depot, literally right there, Dean,” Sam mumbled.

            “Home Depot, then,” Dean emphasized, clearly annoyed.

            “You’re a sore loser,” Claire added, one ear bud out of her ear.

            “Go back to your music and mind your own business,” Dean said, manually turning Claire’s head back around.

            “Michaels.”

            “CAS!”

 

            Dean wound up taking another extremely long nap. By the time he woke up, they were near Dixie National Forest, close to the Utah/Arizona border. He was also informed that they had all stopped to pick up some food from a Zip Trip and Cas had tried to wake him up, but Dean responded with the butt of his palm to Cas’s nose, and the angel was not happy after the exchange. They bought Dean some potato skin chips and a beer and then were off again.

            Dean dug into his snack with clear indignation. He was starving, but Sam told him they weren’t going to stop at least until they reached Nevada. So he glugged down his beer and ate his chips and then he dug in his duffel for more food since he was hungry. Cas offered him some dried fruit, but Dean declined when he saw red dust literally coming off of a dried strawberry. Instead he ate from a goldfish bag.

            He also learned some new information. While he was out, Sam taught Claire to drive the stick shift. They were on a road that had little to no people on it and he thought it would be a good idea. Dean was pissed, but mostly because he didn’t get to help her. He’d taught Sammy how to drive a stick and then he’d taught Cas and Kevin and it felt like second nature to be the one to teach the ways of the stick.

            Cas said Claire drove very well and Sam agreed. They were both proud of her, and though she wasn’t keen on showing emotions, Dean could tell she was thankful for them. He told her, “good job” and left his anger at the door.

            Cas was reading _On the Road_ by Jack Kerouac. Dean had liked the book when he was a teenager. He always wanted to travel the country in a car and meet new people, and then it ended up that way and he did not see the appeal much anymore. Then again, Sal and Dean weren’t going around saving Heaven and Hell. They were just getting high and drinking till they passed out and fucking girls all the livelong day.

            In fact, the ratty copy in Cas’s hands was Dean’s. He could tell because it was an older copy with the original cover on the front. Bobby had given it to him for his sixteenth birthday and he’d read the entire thing that night. Bobby had even written his name on the cover: “Happy Birthday, Dean. I know you like adventures, so...here's this. Bobby”.

            “How’s the read?” Dean asked Cas.

            Cas looked up, his blue eyes locking with Dean’s.

            “Intriguing. The fifties were an odd decade.”

            Dean smirked. “Woulda been fun, huh?”

            He leaned over to see what page Cas was on. 103.

            Cas shrugged. “I’ve been homeless and that’s kind of how it felt. However, Sal has friends everywhere he goes and he is much braver than I am.”

            Dean snorted. “I don’t know about that, Cas.”

            Cas didn’t offer a retort, but Dean knew he wanted to. He wanted to keep that past in the past. He didn’t need to feel like shit for leaving Cas in the dust again.

            Sam pulled into a rest stop twenty minutes later because they all had to go to the bathroom bad. Dean didn’t so much, but he decided to try anyway. Sam would be livid if he made him pull over twenty minutes later.

 

            Twenty minutes later they had to pull over anyway because Cas decided he needed to throw up. It was simply food poisoning, but Dean was nonetheless freaking out and looking in his duffle for Tums and Ibuprofen and any other medicines that could make Cas feel better. It wasn’t that he was going all Mother Goose in the moment, but Cas had recently been under that damned spell and he sure as hell didn’t want Cas to feel like shit after that.

            Cas told Dean he was fine but Dean made him pop a Tums and drink some Ginger ale (yes, they had to stop at a gas station, much to Sam’s dismay). Color came back into Cas’s face and Dean felt good enough leave him alone after that.

 

            Soon they were in Nevada and it was getting late, though it was an hour later where they had just came from because of the time difference. They stopped at a fast food restaurant and bought some grub, but they ate in the car. Dean warned them if anyone got anything on his precious baby, he’d sue.

            However, when Cas spilled a dab of mustard on the seat and made to wipe it up as soon as possible, looking horrified and scared all at once, Dean pardoned it. It was humorous to watch him struggle to please Dean.

            And that sort of made Dean blush, thinking about it. Sam would just laugh and wipe it up, ignoring Dean’s constant remarks.

            They had three hours left of their trip and Sam had driven the entire way. Dean wasn’t keen on giving up the back seat, however. Contrary to Claire’s comment, the back was actually utterly comfortable and Dean figured he could probably catch a few more winks before they arrived. That way he’d be refreshed for the park tomorrow.

            He attempted to sleep, but Claire and Sam were talking about school and Jody and Donna and this attracted his attention. He was inclined to hear about Claire- he wanted her to have a good life, contrary to Cas taking her dad and her mom dying. He wanted to know she was okay, because she was a good kid with a strong heart, even if she did put up a shield most of the time. Hell, Dean did that too.

            Cas finally finished the book. He gently placed it in his duffle bag and pulled out some red vines.

            Dean furrowed his brow.

            “Hey,” he whispered. Cas looked up at him. “Where’d you get those?”

            Cas slipped the red candy from the pouch. “I bought them while you and Sam were on a hunt.”

            Dean reached out a hand. Cas glared at him but pulled one out and set it in Dean’s hand. He took a big bite out of the candy and smiled at Cas.

            “These things are delicious,” he whispered. “Totally forgot they existed.”

            Cas nodded, struggling to take out a piece of his own. Dean smirked. “They are quite good.”

            Cas slipped another piece out of the wrapper and offered it to Dean. He took it gratefully and leaned back into the leather.

            “…class is your favorite?” Now Dean decided to listen to Sam and Claire’s conversation. Cas apparently wanted to listen in too, because his attention was on the teenager.

            Claire absentmindedly braided a little strand of her hair. “Probably History. It’s interesting. I like learning about the wars. They were fucked up.”

            Sam nodded. “Yeah. In college I took a couple of history classes, though it was moreso out of curiosity than me actually attempting to pursue a degree in it. Anyway, that’s great, Claire. How are your grades?” Sam asked. Claire glared at him between her dark lashes.

            “Are you mothering me?” She was joking and Sam knew it.

            He shook his head. “No, just curious.”

            Claire looked down at her phone out of habit. “I have A’s and B’s. One C in math, but I blame it on my math teacher because she’s honest to God shit at teaching. It’s geometry and she sucks at explaining proofs.”

            “I hate those,” Sam agreed. “Writing in math should be frowned upon.”

            “No kidding,” Claire added.

            Dean smiled at how well Sam and Claire were connecting. He figured much of it could be because of their likeness in personality of one another. Perhaps another reason was because Sam treated her like a normal teenager and not some girl who needed help. Dean and Cas were guilty of that, but hey, Dean had given her a gun for her birthday, so there was that.

            “Sounds like you’re doing well, Claire,” Sam said. “I’m glad. I didn’t think you’d like it there. I’m happy I was wrong.”

            Claire shrugged. “Well, the place does kind of suck, but I’ve adapted to it. Also, I have my own room, which really adds to my approval.”

            Sam chuckled and Dean smiled. Cas turned to Dean and handed him another red vine.

 

            With an hour left until they arrived, Dean found out Sam had brought his box set of _Friends,_ which could be played in his laptop. Dean had seen a couple of episodes before and he wasn’t really sure if he liked it or not, but boredom was seeping into his bones and he figured it was the best he could do for the next hour.

            He pulled out Sam’s laptop while Cas pulled out a season one CD. He plugged in his headphones and handed Cas an ear bud.

            They watched the first couple of episodes of season one together, laughing every other minute. Dean decided that, yeah, he did actually enjoy the show. He especially liked Joey because the guy made him laugh until he cried. Cas liked Phoebe, which was such a Cas thing to choose, and Dean couldn’t stop chuckling. Together, he and Cas finished up the red vines (sharing one or two with Sam and Claire), and by time they reached Disneyland, they’d gotten through five episodes.

            Sam drove into the Grand Californian Hotel and parked off to the side. He took out his phone, holding a hand up to stop Claire from leaving just yet.

            “Yeah, uh, is this the Fitzgerald residence? Is Garth there?”

            There was a pause.

            “Hi Garth, it’s Sam.”

            Dean could hear a loud, “SAM!” coming from the receiving end of the speaker. Sam held the phone away from his ear.

            “Yeah, um, we’re in Disneyland. Could you do us a favor?”

            Sam waited.

            “Yeah, we don’t have a booked room. You have to do that way in advance. Anyway, could you get us one with all the accommodations it brings…like tickets and stuff?”

            Another pause.

            “Yeah, it’s me, Dean, Cas and a girl named Claire. Mhm. Two rooms. Yeah. Three days. Yup. Alright, thanks man. Good to hear your voice. I’ll text later, but we should get going. Yeah…text me when you get it all settled.”

            Sam hung up the phone and yawned. It was dusk now, and Dean was sure Sam was exhausted from all the driving he’d done in one day. Four states.

            “Garth getting us rooms?” Dean asked his brother.

            “Yeah. He said it should take a couple of minutes.”

            “Cool.”

            True to his word, Garth texted Sam three minutes later and told him he was okay to go in. He was Mr. Banks (Dean had a good chuckle at this- Cas was wondering why the hell it was so funny, and he apparently couldn't wrack his brain for _Mary Poppins_ references), and he was bringing his daughter and his brother and, get this, his brother’s husband to the park.

            Sam had to laugh at Garth’s layout and Claire smirked. Dean turned to Cas and the angel smiled at him. Dean tried to be angry for no reason, but it wasn’t like they had to act like they were married or anything. It was simply to make them seem like a real family and to make sure they had names to go with the faces. Garth said he’d wired money to the parks and that their trip was paid for, but Sam would have to make a new ID and credit card (the numbers on the card provided in a text message by Garth). Dean got out of the car and secretly rounded Baby and opened her trunk. He pulled out their nifty credit card maker and a separate ID maker. He quickly brought it into the car and while Sam made the credit card, he made the simple ID.

            Fifteen minutes later, they were under the car park and valets were helping them with their duffels. Sam gave the keys to one of them so they could go and park it.

            Dean didn’t like that idea at all, but it had to be done.

            They entered the resort and walked up to the front desk, feeling out of place in their mountain men attire among trendy clothes and warm weather outfits.

            “Reservations for Banks, Sam Banks.”

            The woman at the front desk smiled genuinely at Sam and looked him up on her little computer. She asked for his ID and card, and he gladly showed them to her. They were still warm out of the machine. She barely glanced at them before handing Sam the four key cards and giving them their room numbers.

            They shuffled into the grand lobby, Disney music coming from a piano in the middle. The beautiful wooden structures above them were connected to rock piles below. The hard floors had Aztec designs on them and the lighting was dark enough so that the room felt warm.

            Dean couldn’t fathom how amazing the architecture was. He felt he shouldn’t even be in such a grand structure- like he would ruin it or something. He almost ran into a little kid as he studied the forest green peeking out through the wooden frames.

            The kid sat down in a little chair and began watching an old Disney cartoon with Mickey and Pluto.

            Dean felt a hand in his own and his face grew hot because he knew that hand. He turned to see Cas, a smile on his face as he eyed the lobby up and down.

            “You seem worried, Dean. Everything is fine,” Cas said, simply. His gravelly voice made Dean calm down instantly, though his heart was still beating faster than usual because of the callused hand in his own.

            “This is amazing,” Dean said, looking at Cas.

            The angel smiled. “It’s magical.”

            Dean rolled his eyes and Cas winked as he started walking. Dean was so enraptured by all the lobby had to offer, he’d not seen Sam and Claire wander off to the elevator.

            They reached the elevators and Sam and Claire turned to Dean and Cas when they noticed their arrival. Sam glanced down at the entwined hands and smirked. Claire looked up at Dean, a hint of amusement in her eye. Cas seemed to notice it, because he said, “We are supposed to be husbands.”

            Sam realized that this was true, so he turned around. Dean turned to Cas.

            Cas squeezed his hand and Dean blushed, but he wasn’t going to say anything more about the whole hand holding deal, and he wasn’t going to think too hard about his hot face and his beating heart either.

            “If that was the lobby,” Claire started, “our rooms must be freaking awesome.”

            Sam chuckled.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, the parks!

"Welcome to our family time, welcome to our happy to be time." -Brother Bear

* * *

 

 

Dean and Cas entered their suite while Sam and Claire passed them to the next door. They were instantly hit with a sweet smell from the cleansing of the room and the last strokes of daylight were peeking through the curtains. Cas dropped his duffel onto his bed and walked around, wide eyed.

            The room had two big ass beds and there was a TV on a large dresser. The window opened to a small patio, and the bathroom was bigger than any Dean had ever seen before. And...were those jets?

            “Holy shit,” Dean muttered, peeking his head into the bathroom.

            “Why don’t you normally get rooms this big?” Cas questioned Dean, though it was more rhetorical.

            Dean closed the door. “Psht, yeah, Sammy and I don’t even make enough to step into this place.”

            Cas smiled and jumped on the bed, flailing his limbs out as wide as they could go. Dean chuckled and then sat on his own queen bed, which was more comfortable than any memory foam and magic fingers he’d ever had.

            “This place is awesome,” Dean praised as he pushed himself back so he could lie on the stiff and soft pillows. He sunk into the heavy sheets instantly. Cas reached for the remote on the nightstand and turned on the TV. It was on a Disney radio station, so Cas flicked through each of the channels. He stopped on _The Little Mermaid._

            He and Cas watched a little while the sun fell outside. Dean was exhausted from the trip over, but his hunger outweighed the droopy eyes. He wondered when and if Sam and Claire were going to go out to get something.

            “Cas,” Dean said, closing his eyes. “Call Sam and ask him when soup’s up.”

            Dean could almost see Cas’s annoyance in his mind and he smiled. Cas called Sam.

            “Dean was wondering when dinner was,” Cas said into the receiver, irritated. “Okay, I’ll let him know. See you soon.”

            Dean opened his left eye to look at Cas from his peripheral.

            “So?”

            “Sam said he and Claire would meet us in the lobby in ten minutes.”

            Dean opened both eyes then. “Perfect. Aren’t you hungry?”

            Cas shrugged. “I’m fine either way.”

            “You’re boring.”

            Dean stood up and entered the bathroom, cutting off Cas.

 

            Dean made sure Cas had his key card before they shuffled down the silent hallways to the elevator. He was still sleepy, but being up and moving helped him wake up a little bit.

            Sam and Claire were sitting on a massive couch downstairs. Claire played on her phone and Sam took in the giant room. Dean and Cas greeted them and they both looked up.

            “Find a good dinner place in that big ass book of yours?” Dean questioned his brother mockingly.

            Sam nodded, ignoring the joking. “As a matter of fact, I have. We can’t go into the park yet, so we’re going to have to stick to Downtown Disney.”

            “I don’t care. I just need food in my belly.”

            At Dean’s side, Cas had struck up a conversation with Claire.

            “Do you like your room?”

            Claire nodded. “It’s actually a sweet set up. How about you?”

            Cas seemed shocked Claire was actually interested in something about him, but he nonetheless answered.

            “I like the bed.”

            Claire chuckled lightheartedly and Cas was astounded at her sudden shift in mood. Sam made a face, telling him not to question it.

            “Should we head in?” Sam asked.

            “Please,” Dean said, already making his way to the entrance of Downtown.

 

 

            “Merry Christmas, Dean,” Dean muttered to himself, taking a big bite of his calzone. Sam found some smallish bakery/restaurant of sorts, and they were eating on the terrace with a space heater near them. Dean was digging in the way he normally did when he was starving, and he’d purchased the biggest item on the menu. He blamed it on the fact they hadn’t woken him up during their pit stop hours ago.

            “It’s November,” Cas offered. Dean rolled his eyes and ignored the angel, taking another glorious bite of the cheesy deliciousness.

            Claire and Sam both had salads and Cas only bought a muffin, which he was picking at disparagingly. 

            Dean watched people pass by rapidly. The pace was so much faster here and the people were all business. He didn’t see any adult _actually_ having fun. The kids definitely were, but the parents remained stoic and looking somewhat pissed off. Dean was pretty sure that wasn’t what Mr. Disney intended for his parks, but who was he to judge.

            “Dean,” Sam said, snapping in front of the older Winchester’s face. “You alive?”

            “Hopefully,” Dean said, and hey, it was a half-truth.

            “We’re going to have to wake up early if we want to go in for the extra hour tomorrow, okay? So set your alarm.”

            Dean groaned and took a sip of his Coke.

            “I’ll make sure he is up,” Cas informed Sam.

            Dean rolled his eyes as Sam thanked Cas. Claire smirked at Dean and he shot her a stink face.

            “Dean, would you slow down?” Sam whispered, leaning closer to him. Dean eyed his brother with a string of cheese dangling from his mouth, a deer caught in the headlights. He questioned him with his eyes.

            “You have food down your front.”

            Dean looked down and sure enough, there was a line of pizza sauce from his neck to his ribcage. He chuckled and used a napkin to wipe it off, but unfortunately only ended up smearing it. Sam rolled his eyes and covered them with his right hand. Claire took a picture.

            Cas looked around and placed his warm hand on Dean’s side. Dean heard a ‘fwip’ sound and the stain was gone. He smiled at Cas.

            “Thanks, pal,” Dean offered. Cas nodded and Claire and Sam locked eyes, quizically. Dean wanted to tell them that the look didn’t go unnoticed.

            They finished eating in silence. Dean snarfed down his entire big ass calzone, and the exhaustion came back afterwards because of a full stomach and the hazy warmth coming from the space heaters.

            “I think Claire and I are going to hang around Downtown Disney for a while. You guys wanna join us?” Sam asked.

            Dean burped (leading to a Sam bitch face) and said, “Nah, I’m tired. Gonna go hit the hay.”

            “Cas?” Sam asked the angel. Cas glanced at Dean and then shook his head.

            “I think I, too, will retire.” He turned to Claire. “Goodnight.”

            “Night Cas,” Sam said, nodding to him.

            “Goodnight Castiel,” Claire added. She and Sam turned and then made their way into the heart of Downtown Disney.

            Dean turned to Cas. “Sure you don’t wanna stay and look around?”

            Cas shook his head. “Perhaps tomorrow.”

            Dean shrugged, as if to say ‘whatever’, and then he and Cas were walking side-by-side back to the resort.

            Dean took the opportunity to glance at Cas in his peripheral vision. He was still wearing what he put on early this morning in Denver, but his hair was more windswept and his five o’clock shadow was peeking out, especially in the dark lighting of the park. His eyes were fiercely blue tonight; not like they weren’t always, but tonight they had more life in them. His wrinkles were more prominent than they had been over the years, but he’d been an angel and a human and many other things in between, so the skin was aging. But it looked good on him.

            Hell, anything looked good on him.

            Even that stupid trench coat that had been on him since day one.

            Definitely his smile. Not the simple, tight lipped one for a small joke Dean might crack, but one where he full on grinned and showed his teeth and sometimes his gums. Yeah, that smile.

            Dean had been on this route of thought before. Hell, really any time Cas was near him. He knew he liked Cas. Yeah, his best friend, Cas. He knew the exact moment he began to like him, and he could pinpoint all the times he’d maybe gotten butterflies in his stomach when the angel was near. Or the times his heart sank because of something going on with him.

            He’d been asked by Sam, Heaven, Hell…everyone, if he planned on being with anyone in the long run- if he’d get with someone who knew the life. He had an answer each time: no. He wasn’t sure if it was true, though. He had one person in mind the entire time, but he didn’t know if it was ever the right time for anything to happen. Hell, he didn’t even know if Cas liked him that way and he wasn’t going to sit and stir over it like some little schoolgirl. He didn’t think about it. He lived day-to-day and if thoughts overtook his head once in a while, they did, but they never escalated to him pondering the future and whatnot.

            He did know he was excited for this trip. He wanted to make Cas happy- he wanted Cas to live a little and have fun. He, too, wanted to unwind and not have to worry about the Darkness, which had been all he’d been thinking about lately. That needed to change.

            “Are you alright, Dean? You’re thinking awfully hard.” Cas turned to Dean when they entered the lobby.

            Dean shook his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Mind’s going a million miles an hour.”

            “Perhaps sleep will be good for you. And a _good_ night’s sleep at that,” Cas suggested. Dean nodded.

            “Hope so.”

            They stepped onto the elevator and Dean got a huge whiff of Cas’s natural musk. He relaxed instantly and leaned against the wall.

            The doors dinged and opened. They walked down the hall to their room and Cas took two tries to open the door. Dean chuckled the entire time while Cas struggled.

            Dean had forgotten they’d left the TV on. It was now playing _The Jungle Book._

            He yanked his shirt off his head with a yawn and took off his pants. He then crawled into the sheets and laid his head against two of the stiff pillows. He sighed.

            “Ugghhhh, this feels so nice,” Dean grumbled, closing his eyes a little. Cas smiled at him with closed lips. He leaned down and took off his shoes, and then slid back on the bed to lean against his own pillows.

            “I remember,” Dean started, yawning with his eyes closed. “When Sammy and I were younger, dad dropped us off at Bobby’s and the old fart put on _The Jungle Book._ Sam and me couldn’t get over the orangutan song, and we rewound it over and over again to learn the song. Y’know, cuz this was back in the day of VHS. Anyway, we learned it to a T, and we even attempted the dance. Can’t remember if we ever got it or not, but either way it was a fun day.”

            Dean peeked through one eye to look at Cas, and he was genuinely smiling with white teeth showing.

            “That sounds fun, Dean.”

            Dean nodded. “It was.”

            He drifted off after that. He was awake enough to still hear the movie though, so when the King Louie scene came up, Dean started singing.

            “Now I’m the king of the swinger’s oh, the jungle VIP. I’ve reached the top and had to stop and that’s what’s bothering me.” His voice was groggy and it cracked in places, but he was smiling through it. He opened one, tired eye and looked at Cas.

            Cas stared at him. He wasn’t smiling like he had been however long ago he and Dean had talked, but he was enamored.

            “Ooh bee doo, I wanna be like you. I wanna walk like you, talk like you too,” Dean continued. He yawned and rolled onto his side so he was facing Cas’s bed.

            “Still got it,” he stated. Cas nodded.

            All of a sudden, a loud, booming sound filled the air. Dean’s first instinct was to reach under his pillow and grab his gun, but then he saw the flash of lights outside, indicating fireworks. Cas had turned. He was also on edge in that split second, but then he grinned from ear to ear.

            He hopped of the bed and padded towards the window.

            “Fireworks,” he commented. Dean watched from the bed, though his vision was a little blurry.

            “Yeah, they shoot off fireworks every night. We’ll get to see them tomorrow up close,” Dean told Cas.

            Cas nodded, but opened up the screen door anyway and stepped onto the patio. He closed it and looked up in awe. The reds and pinks reflected on his face and his smile pulled up in a little dimple. Dean stared at him. He wanted to join Cas but he was too tired.

            He did like the view, however. Cas’s face was glowing with the reflections of the fireworks and his eyes sparkled. His hands were gripping the bars tightly and his white socks were probably getting dirty from the patio.

            Dean reached for his phone and pulled up on the little camera icon to open the lens. He snapped a picture of the angel, and then zoomed in to get another one of his face. The camera captured it just right so it was reflecting a green color on his skin and in his eyes.

            “Damn,” Dean said, looking at the picture. He clicked his phone off and set it back on the nightstand and then swung his legs over the bed. He rubbed his eyes and then headed out onto the patio as well.

            The fireworks were spectacular and massive in the sky. Huge beams of light came off of the castle, and in the background he could hear a song playing. He stood silently and watched Cas and the fireworks.

            “I can see how kids enjoy coming here,” Cas said quietly, his voice gravel. Dean adjusted his boxers, which had somehow moved sideways in is half-slumber.

            “It is pretty amazing,” Dean offered. He looked back up at the fireworks. “How magical would that be if you saw those when you were a kid and you thought everything was real?”

            Cas smiled and looked at Dean.

            “God I had a shitty childhood,” Dean muttered. He snorted. “Oh well, we’re here now. Besides, had we come here when I was young, you would have never gotten to come with us. Or Claire.”

            “I’m happy we got to do this, then,” Cas said.

            “Thank yourself, man,” Dean told him. He yawned.

            They watched the finale of the fireworks in silence. At some point, Claire and Sam came out on their patio to watch, too. Dean and Cas had turned back and offered polite smiles before turning to watch again.

            Finally, the music ended and the beam lights stuck straight into the sky. The last crackle of fireworks ended and they were left in silence, save for the TV.

            “Night guys,” Sam said as he headed back into his room.

            “Night,” Dean and Cas said.

            “I think I will take a shower if you are going to take one in the morning,” Cas told Dean. He pushed himself off the railing and opened the door.

            “Sounds good, Cas. I’ll probably be asleep by the time you get out, so goodnight.”

            “Goodnight Dean.” Cas placed his warm hand on Dean’s shoulder as a final consolation, and then he was gone.

            He sat in silence for a couple of seconds before he heard, “That was cute.”

            He turned around and saw Claire sitting in a patio seat. She had her arms crossed and a grin on her face.

            Dean furrowed his brow.

            “What?”

            “You and Cas,” she answered.

            Dean offered no reply and she stood up and leaned against the railing so she was closer to Dean.

            “Look, I don’t want to pry here, nor do I have any right to really get into your business since I barely know you and you’re weird and all,” Claire started, “but I know that look on Castiel’s face.”   

            Dean continued to furrow his brow. He was lost.

            Claire scoffed and rolled her eyes. “That look he gives you. Intense, happy, almost paralyzing. Yeah, good old dad had that look, too.”

            Dean started to realize what she was going off about.

            “Yeah, dad got that look when he was talking to mom or even staring at her. He looked at her _lovingly_.”

            Dean swallowed thickly. “Cas and me…we’re just friends,” he tried. She rolled her eyes.

            “I know that,” Claire said. “Like I said, I don’t want to pry. Just take that information and do with it what you will.”

            She waved Dean goodnight and then returned to her suite. Dean looked at the castle.

            He would do nothing with that information.

            In fact, he was going to sleep.

            Though he had told himself he wasn’t going to think about it, all he could see was Cas’s face before he drifted off into the deepest sleep he’d ever had in his life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

"There may be something there that wasn't there before." -Mrs. Potts, Beauty and the Beast

 

* * *

 

 

Dean woke up to the bright sunlight streaming through the window. Cas had pulled back the curtains as wide as they could go, and immediately he veered over to Dean and started shaking him awake. Dean muttered, “I’m up, I’m up.” He rolled over and his feet landed on the carpeted ground. Cas was instantly in front of his face.

            “Come on, Dean,” he said seriously. “The parks open in an hour,” he added sassily. Dean ran a hand over his pale tummy as he stretched.

            “Cas, it takes me twenty minutes tops to get ready.” Dean stopped and looked Cas up and down. “Where in the hell did you get that?”

            Cas stared at his shirt and smiled, all teeth. “Sam bought it for me last night. You went to bed and after my shower, Claire came over with it.”

            Cas had on a t-shirt with Grumpy and Dopey that said, “I’m Grumpy cuz you’re Dopey.”

            Dean snorted and pressed past Cas to head to the awesome shower when Cas stopped him.

            “Claire bought this one for you.” He held out a t-shirt for Dean and he opened it up to reveal a badass looking Han Solo.

            “Oh thank God,” Dean said, scrunching it back up. “I thought it would be something dumb like a Princess shirt or something."

            Cas scoffed. “Princesses are not dumb, Dean. They save people and they also run an entire country. Besides, little girls and boys enjoy them.”

            Dean held his hands up as if to say, “My bad,” and then he entered the bathroom, locking the door behind him so Cas wouldn’t bring his rant into it.

            He showered quickly, so as to not piss Cas off more. He pulled on the shirt Claire bought for him and shimmied some jeans. He decided on his tan boots rather than the hunting ones. It wasn’t California attire, but it was basically all he owned so it would have to do. Besides, Cas was wearing the same sort of attire, except he had his odd shirt.

            Dean took one last look at himself in the fogged up mirror before entering his and Cas’s room. Cas was on his bed watching _Princess and the Frog._ He had a map of Disneyland open on his lap and he was marking it randomly. Dean sat on the end of his bed and watched with a mouth open and tongue out while he struggled to tie his boots.

            “Whatcha doin’ up there?” Dean questioned the angel without taking his eyes off the movie.

            “Putting dots by the places Sam and I would like to go to.”

            Dean bit his lip after tying his final boot and stood up. “Cas, you can’t formulate fun. We just gotta go in there and if we see something we wanna do, we do it.”

            Cas furrowed his brow and Dean took the map from him.

            “See this?” Dean said. Cas didn’t nod. Dean crumpled up the map and threw it over his shoulder. “Don’t need it. Trust me.”

            “I trust you, Dean,” Cas replied. Dean nodded.

            “Good. So how late were you up last night, then? What did you do?”

            Cas shrugged. “I watched _Peter Pan,”_ Cas replied. “Claire came over around midnight and she was going to give you your shirt, but you were snoring so she gave it to me. And then I watched _Peter Pan_ and sat on the porch for a while.”

            Dean pursed his lips. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

            “A couple of hours. I’m starting to get accustomed to my grace again.”

            Dean nodded. “That’s good, Cas.”

            Cas smiled.

            Dean paused and then motioned to the door. “You ready to head out.”

            Cas sprung up from the bed and passed Dean on his towards the door.

            “Did you grab your key card?”

            Cas sighed like a disappointed two- year- old and snatched the key card on the table before exiting their hotel room. They knocked on Sam and Claire’s door and Sam opened it, toothbrush in his mouth. He motioned for them to come in and disappeared into the bathroom.

            Claire was sitting on the bed flipping through channels. She looked at Dean.

            “Your brother takes longer to get ready than I do,” she commented. Dean chuckled.

            “No surprise there.”

            Claire turned the TV off and snatched her purse from her bag. She put on her aviator sunglasses and stood by Cas.

            “Sam,” she said, “we’re ready to go.”

            “One sec,” he replied, voice muffled by the door. In a minute he came out with dabs of sunscreen on his face.

            Dean scrunched up his face. “What the hell is that?”

            Sam touched his hands to his face and found where the sunscreen wasn’t fully rubbed in. “Sunscreen,” he replied. “You should put some on, too.”

            Dean raised his eyebrows. “Dude, I’ve lived outside more than I have inside. I don’t need any.”

            “The sun could give you skin cancer, Dean.”

            “No,” Dean replied. “I don’t need it.”

            “Dean, put on the sunscreen,” Cas barked. Dean turned to him and his eyes widened in shock at the order, but he wasn’t going to argue with serious Cas. Instead, he dabbed some onto his face and ignored his arms. Cas seemed happy with the amount he had put on, so he stopped.

            “Now are we ready to go?” Claire asked. “You boys take forever.”

            She made her way to the door, independently heading down the hallway to the elevators.

            Dean, Sam and Cas followed a ways behind her. Sam was wearing his new Mickey Mouse t-shirt, and Claire seemed to forgo the Disney themed shirt and had on an AC/DC one instead. Dean was proud of that.

            They made their way through the lobby, which seemed to be packed with people ready to make use of the extra hour. Cas was antsy beside Dean. He sped up as they grew closer to the Downtown Disney entrance.

            Sam, too, was becoming anxious. He was biting his lip (a nervous gesture on the younger Winchester), and he fiddled around with his card that let him into the parks. Dean rolled his eyes.

            They finally entered Downtown Disney and they followed the crowds right towards the Disney Parks entrance. Dean wouldn’t have minded dallying along at a pace where he could take in the scenery and listen to the Disney music coming from speakers nearby, but Cas and Sam had other ideas. Claire, too, was walking fast, but hers was more her normalcy than excitement. Dean picked up the pace.

            The lines to enter Disneyland were long and there were about fifteen to twenty open lanes to go through. Sam and Cas picked the smallest line, and Dean and Claire had to cut a couple of people so as to stand next to their company.

            “Jesus guys,” Dean said, breathing hard. “You’re like freaking children.”

            Cas bitch faced at Dean. “Would you like to wait in lines or not?”

            Claire looked at Dean and he pursed his lips. They were obviously nonchalant about this whole thing.

            “You dapper like they are?” Dean questioned Claire when Sam and Cas started a conversation about _Peter Pan_ now that Cas had seen it. He obviously knew about it, but seeing it was much more appealing and easier to have a little chat about.

            She shrugged. “I’m along for the ride, Deano.” She turned the camera on her phone and snapped a picture of the lines. “I told Donna and Jody I’d take pictures. Here,” she started, holding the camera in front of her face to take a selfie. “You’d better get in the picture. It would make Donna happy.”

            Dean rolled his eyes and entered the frame, putting on a fake, toothy grin. Claire snapped the picture and instantly both their mouths fell.

            “We’re kind of buzzkills,” Claire noted. Dean chuckled.

            “It’s hard coming to a place full of happiness when you’ve been to hell.”

            Claire smirked. “I’ll bet.”

            “Yours is just your demeanor.”

            Claire flipped him off and the kid behind Dean gasped. Claire’s eyes widened and she turned around. That terminated their conversation.

            Soon they were at the front of the line and the woman taking cards took pictures of each of them to go into their computer’s memory, and then they were officially in the park. Goofy was off to the side taking pictures, and a long line of kids waited near him. Dean whistled.

            Main Street was packed with parents and kids and strollers. Vendors waited for the heat of the day to sell their overpriced water and pretzels and churros. Dean was pretty sure he saw a big ass turkey leg and he knew what he was getting for lunch.

            As they walked down the cobblestone street, Sam turned around and looked at Dean. “Later on today we gotta do the President Lincoln presentation.”

            “Fuuuuck,” Dean whispered under his breath. It wasn’t that President Lincoln didn’t pump his nads- he simply did not want to sit and watch his life be played out for a half an hour.

            Cas snapped pictures on his phone as they walked along, swiftly dodging rogue kids and strollers. Dean and Claire shuffled behind them, gazing at all the happy colored buildings and what filled the windows. The castle loomed ahead of them, massive and beautiful. Dean couldn’t believe how much work had gone into the architecture of the place and how one man could envision a park for children and adults alike. He stared at the statue of Walt and Mickey placed strategically in front of the castle. He nodded a salute to the guy. He was impressed, and it took a lot for Dean Winchester to be impressed.

            “Cool castle, huh,” Dean said, nudging Claire in the shoulder.

            “Yeah, it is amazing,” Claire said, no sarcasm entering her voice. Dean smiled. Cas handed Dean his phone and told him to take a picture of him and Sam in front of the statue and the castle. Dean did so and was shocked when Cas grabbed his hand and pulled him by his side so they could get a picture as well. Finally, Cas and Claire got a picture and the teen sent it to Donna and Jody.

            They continued on, this time Claire walking with Sam while Cas fell back with Dean. Sam was leading the way because he wanted to get to Space Mountain quickly. He read in his big ass book to go to that ride early because the wait time was long otherwise. Claire was excited for the ride. Jody had gone to Disneyland back when her family was alive and she said it was their favorite in the park. Sam was explaining how cool it was because there were stars inside and it was a roller coaster completely in the dark.

            Cas and Dean were quiet for the most part. Dean noticeably whined when they passed the cool new _Star Wars_ ride, and Cas placed a hand on his shoulder, promising him they would go on it next.

            The line to get onto Space Mountain was like a labyrinth. The entrance took them inside a building, and then they followed ramps and hallways and then a roundabout outside before entering the final building where people were getting loaded into the rocket ship rollercoaster. They had a wait time of fifteen minutes.

            Dean watched people come off the ride with smiles and windswept hair, and the people getting on nervous and excited. He turned to Sam.

            “You sure you’ll fit in there?”

            Sam shot him a look and Dean smirked.

            “You excited?” Dean questioned Cas. The angel smiled and nodded, hands wrapping around the bars next to them. Dean reached for the phone in Cas’s hand and opened up the camera. He pulled Cas next to him and they took a picture with the rocket ships in the background.

            The line moved quickly and soon it was their turn. Claire hopped in next to Sam and Dean sat next to Cas. Dean was truthfully excited, too. His ears were ringing as his heart beat faster. He held out his hand for Cas to take (in a friend- like manner, he told himself), and the ride started. It chugged along the tracks, the lines click-clicking as white lights in the tube around them checkered towards the cars, and then they were shooting off into pitch darkness. Dean laughed and looked up, wind blowing in his face. Stars surrounded and passed them as they sped in a downward spiral. Cas was oddly silent next to Dean, but he figured the angel was probably having fun. He was still holding his hand, anyway.

            Sam and Claire were screaming with glee in the seats in front of them, though Dean couldn’t see either one of them. The stars continued to pass them in a hurry, and Dean was amazed at how a ride could seem so real.

            The ride slowed down and the lights came into view. Dean blinked a couple of times, adjusting to the dark light of the room. He had a cheesy grin on his face and his hair felt disheveled, but he was swimming with excitement.

            They all hopped out of the roller coaster and exited. Dean let go of Cas’s hand and turned to him as they walked down the long hallway.

            “So,” he said, staring at angel’s blue eyes. “How did you like it?”

            Cas’s hair was pure sex, like it had been the first day he and Dean met. It was due to the wind of the ride and Dean wasn’t complaining. He had a smile on his face, but it wasn’t one of excitement and adrenaline. It was more of a reminiscing type of grin.

            Cas stopped abruptly, and Dean did, too. He sought after Sam and Claire, but they had already turned the corner. People passed them, uncaring that they were clogging the hallway. Dean moved them to the wall and pressed Cas to spill.

            “Talk to me. What’s going on? You doing okay?” Dean looked at his face, making sure the spell Rowena cast on him wasn’t returning. Cas nodded.

            “I’m fine, Dean. It…it felt like I was flying again. Like I was flying past the stars. The wind in my face and wings; it brought back the nostalgia of it.”

            Dean let out a breath he’d sucked in previously. Cas was fine, but it made Dean somber that Cas felt this way.

            “But you can fly now, though.”

            Cas shrugged. “Yes. I still don’t have much of my grace so I’m much too weak to fly that far. A couple of miles in a straight line, sure. But not up above like I used to. Not fast, and not for extremely long distances.”

            Dean whistled. “I’m sorry, man. If you want to do the ride again, we can. I don’t mind.”

            Cas shook his head. “Perhaps tomorrow. I promised we’d do _Star Wars_.”

            Dean smiled and wrapped his arm around Cas as they continued towards the final exit. “You sure you’re gonna be okay?”

            “Of course, Dean. Even though I miss one thing, I have plenty of other things to take its place.”

            Claire and Sam stood outside the exit. Sam shifted from one leg to another, antsy to get moving. Claire snapped her gum and took a picture of the ‘Space Mountain’ sign.

            “Come on, guys,” Sam said, noticing their arrival. Dean took his arm off Cas’s shoulder and stepped up to the teen and his brother. “We’re gonna go do Matterhorn next.”

            Dean was about to nod and follow his brother when Cas spoke up.

            “You and Claire go and do that one. I promised Dean we would go on the _Star Wars_ ride,” he said. Dean smiled and Sam and Claire looked at one another, eyebrows raised.

            “Sounds good to us. We’ll text you when we get off.”

            “Perfect,” Dean answered. Sam and Claire parted ways with them halfway down the walkway, and then Dean and Cas were alone.

            “Have you seen _Star Wars_?” Dean asked the angel, curious because Cas had been surprising him a lot lately.

            Cas looked at him. “Technically, no,” he said. “However, I have pop culture references now, so I know the entire story line and every bit of information written about it. There are many theories and inferences.”

            “Alright, alright,” Dean said, cutting him off. “So we’ll say you’ve seen it then.”

            Cas nodded.

            “Charlie and I had this thing,” Dean started, his voice cracking thinking of Charlie. “We’d say ‘I love you’ and the other would reply with ‘I know’. God, she’d love it here. Especially with the new superhero Marvel stuff they brought in.”

            Cas placed a comforting hand on Dean’s shoulder.

            “I’m sorry, Dean. Charlie was a great person with a great heart. It’s not your fault…what happened to her.”

            Dean pursed his lips. Technically, it was Sam’s fault. But he blamed himself, too. It was a domino affect. Had he not taken the burden of the Mark, Sam would have never tried to find the Book of the Damned, and then Charlie would have never met her demise. Fate is a son of a bitch though, and Dean needed someone to blame, which meant it was all on him and Sam.

            “It kind of is, Cas.” Before Cas could speak, Dean continued. “But let’s drop it for now. C’mon.” He sped up and Cas followed in his wake. The sign said there would be a fifteen-minute wait, which was perfect enough for Dean. They wound the platforms and were met with sounds of R2-D2 and C3PO surrounding them. Eventually, the Millennium Falcon came into view with the droids inside of it. A shadow of Jar Jar Binks was behind them, and Dean and Cas took pictures on their phones. The line wasn’t long at all and it was fast moving, so they didn’t get time to hear the conversations between the suitcase aliens, but Dean was excited to get on the ride.

            They came up to the tied off ropes and waited for five minutes, and then the ‘flight attendant’ let them in. They entered their ship and buckled their seatbelts. Dean adjusted his 3D glasses and took a picture of Cas in his because he looked ridiculous.

            The flight attendant walked into their ship and the door closed. Cas and Dean looked up at her, intent to listen. She explained the rules of the ride, and then the seats lifted off the ground a little. Dean’s heart beat fast in anticipation. The screen in front of them opened and C3PO introduced himself. Soon, the screen had them lifting off into space and the seats they were in stirred with the movements of the screen. It was awesome and Dean was smiling from ear to ear. The ship stopped abruptly as an asteroid came into view and then they were off again. The ship ‘hit’ another asteroid and a crunching noise sounded through the ride and the ship lurched for real.

            The ride ended after five minutes or so and Dean and Cas exited, recycling their 3D glasses at the door. Dean turned back to the angel, waiting for him to catch up.

            “Did you like that one?” Dean asked him, the smile not leaving his face.

            Cas nodded. “I had an…awesome time, as you would say.” Cas beamed and Dean nudged him with his shoulder.

            “Where to next?” Dean questioned him. “It’s your turn.”

            Cas shielded his eyes with his hand when they reached the morning sunlight. He looked at Dean through his thick lashes. “Should we find Sam and Claire?”

            Dean looked back and forth before they crossed to the other side of the walkway.

            “Nah. They’re probably still in line. See?” Dean pointed to the line for the Matterhorn that wrapped its way around the mountain.

            Cas appeared to be unsure, but Dean gripped his shoulder in his hand and turned him around so they could make their way towards the Tomorrowland section.

            “Dean,” Cas said, almost in a whiny tone. He stopped abruptly. Dean turned around.

            “What’s up?”

            Cas looked down. “I’m hungry.” He looked up at Dean, his face contorted as if worried.

            Dean snorted. “C’mon hungry, let’s go get some grub.”

 

            After a hearty brunch of sorts, Dean and Cas met up with Sam and Claire at the _Finding Nemo_ submarine ride. They only had to wait in line for a couple of minutes. The park was now fully open but apparently everyone wanted to get in line for the bigger rides.

            Claire chose this ride because it was her favorite Disney movie. Sam told Dean and Cas that during the Matterhorn he sat in front of woman who looked like Emma Watson, and that they had to ride the roller coaster as well because he and Claire had a blast and they got wet.

            “I bet you did, Sammy,” Dean had joked and Sam made sure to bruise him in the shoulder. Claire had also heard and she rolled her eyes at Dean and ended up talking to Cas.

            It was their turn to get on the ride. They hopped onto the yellow submarine (Dean was humming the Beatles song) and they stepped down the ladder, which led to a dark room lined with chairs. They had to go down as far as possible and each of them were seated by a window. Dean felt a little claustrophobic, but he breathed steadily and focused on the barnacles outside the window. Cas was next to him, too, and the natural mountain musk smell came off of him and that calmed Dean down as well.

            Soon, the Australian captain recording started playing and they ‘descended’ into the water. Dean had to be honest- he’d never seen the movie. Neither had Cas, but he had the whole book of pop culture in his head so he didn’t have to worry. Sam must have seen it, too, because he pointed out a creepy little girl scuba diving for fish.

            They went past an anemone and the captain turned on the fish sound so they could hear Nemo and Marlin talking. Dean sort of felt like this was a snooze fest, so instead he watched Cas, who was staring out the window with interest. He leaned forward and his blue eyes reflected the scene in front of him.

            Claire, too, was intrigued. She was recording the scene outside the window, but she had a smile on her face as the ‘sea’ darkened and they entered the shark’s lair. Sam, who was all too big for the submarine, was watching with his elbows on his knees, chin resting in his hands.

            He watched Cas again. He wondered how Cas felt; seeing all he had seen in the thousands upon thousands of years he’d been alive, and now he was watching something simplistic, something that made kids and adults happy. Something magical without having anything to do with magic.

            He took out his phone and snapped a picture of Cas in his tranquil state. The silhouette made the picture look almost professional and Dean swore he would show Cas and ask him the question he was pondering.

            The ride came to an end and they emerged from the water. Everyone climbed up the ladder at a slow pace and Dean was happy to suck in clean air.

            They all stood near the exit to determine what to do next.

            “I dunno,” Dean said, looking back towards _Star Wars_. “You and Claire need to do Star Tours, but I saw this fun looking Buzz Lightyear ride. It’s interactive.” His eyebrows waggled up and down.

            “Alright, alright,” Sam said. “Astro Blasters,” he emphasized, showing Dean his map. “We’ll do that, and then Cas gets to choose. Claire and I can do Star Tours tonight.”

            “Wow, I thought you’d get a nerd boner for Star Tours. You’re disappointing me, Sammy,” Dean informed his brother. Sam patted him on the shoulder.

            “Like it or not, you’re nerdier than me, Dean.”

            Claire nodded as a final thought, and they were off to the Astro Blasters ride.

 

            Dean and Sam decided to go together and Claire and Cas hopped on another car. Dean smiled as he saw they got to shoot things.

            “Woo!” He exclaimed. “I’m gonna whoop your ass, Sammy.”

            “We’ll see about that.”

            Sam adjusted to get comfortable and he put his hand on his gun. Dean followed suit as they entered Zurg’s lair, and then they were shooting the targets at fast speeds.

            Dean shot and missed his first target. “Are you kidding me?! I hit that!”

            Sam laughed outright and hit three targets, one of them moving.

            Dean shot again and hit the target. He smirked and aimed for the next glowing one he saw. His gun blinged each time he hit one and he was starting to get pretty good. He even hit Zurg.

            Sam stuck his tongue out, concentrating. He aimed for the higher targets, as it was easier for him to aim there.

            Finally, the ride came to a stop. Dean felt proud. He looked down at his and Sammy’s scores.

            “Are you kidding me?” Dean leaned closer and found that Sam was close to forty points higher than he was.

            “I guess I’m just a better shot than you,” Sam said, a playful smirk on his mouth.

            They hopped off the ride and got some pretty bizarre, angry looks from mothers and kids. Cas and Claire came up behind them.

            “Yeah, I’m not riding with the angel here anymore,” Claire informed them. Dean looked from her up to Cas.

            “Why not?”

            “He decided to hit every single target at angel turbo speed so kids couldn’t hit them.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Also me. I got one point.”

            Dean burst into laughter. So that’s why the parents were all pissy. Cas smiled shyly after him, happy he hadn’t upset the older Winchester.

            “C’mon Cas,” Dean started, nodding towards the walkway. “Let’s go to my favorite Disney movie's ride- Pirates!”

 

            All four of them ended up having to catch a train that went to each section of the park. The train led them through Main Street and Adventureland, and then came to a stuttering halt at New Orleans Square.

            They all hopped off the train and entered the little town that smelled a little like seafood and had great southern music. Princess Tiana was right by the little river taking pictures and talking to little boys and girls. It wasn’t packed, but the area was fairly full.

            “Alright Dora.” Dean turned to his brother, stopping by a Jambalaya restaurant. “Where does your map say Pirates is?”

            Sam didn’t answer, and instead led the lot of them right. They went under a tiny arch that connected the southern built houses, and they passed jewelry and attraction stores.

            “This is amazing,” Claire said, looking up at the windows and vines hanging down from the tiny houses.

            “Yeah, and fairly accurate, too,” Dean added, reminiscing on any hunt they’d ever had in the south.

            “It smells really good,” Cas offered. Dean looked at him and winked.

            “Maybe we can get lunch here.”

            Sam veered off right once more, and then the massive, black _Pirates of the Caribbean_ sign stood out. The line continued on outside of the building, though not very far. Dean led the way and then remembered Cas was supposed to choose the next ride. He shrugged it off and went through the maze to get to the entrance of of the ride. Which, hey, awesome, was also a restaurant lit up dark like Calypso’s bayou.

            They stood in line for about ten minutes. At one point in time, Dean turned to Cas and apologized for taking his turn and told him he could choose the next two. Cas didn’t seem affected and he shrugged and then leaned against the railing to watch the oncoming ‘ships’. He did tell Dean that his punishment would be to buy him his lunch.

            Dean informed him he didn’t even have money to buy anything in the park.

            Cas smirked and moved forward as the line continued.

            Cas took a picture of Claire and Sam with the little treasure and parrot in the background. She sent the picture off to her caretaker and then the line moved again.

            Finally it was their turn to get into a ship. Dean and Cas took the very back of the ride while Sam and Claire hopped in front of them. Claire, as she’d said before, was not going to sit with Cas again, so Sam it was. Dean promised Cas he’d get Claire to at least sit with him on one more ride, and he smiled.

            The ship jutted at first, and then it lurched forward, slowly heading into darkness. Dean nudged Cas and smiled at him. Cas grinned back and held the bar in front of him.

            They went under a ‘stream of water’ which was actually smoke of some sort, and then they heard the ominous line, “Dean men tell no tales!” and then they plunged down a drop off, which surprised all four of them. Claire gripped the bars tight and Sam let out a very clear, very short, “AH!” and Dean pressed his boots to the solid area in front of him while actually letting out a scream. Cas already had his hands on the bar, so all he had left to do was to let out a manly, angelic shriek, which Dean would have otherwise laughed at had he been forewarned about a drop, even though it wasn’t even that big.

            Everything leveled out after that and they were in the town with the jail cell and the dog with the keys. Dean didn’t trust this ride anymore, and he was tense all down his back. Cas, Claire and Sam were back to normal and Claire was even smiling as she took a video of the ride.

            Dean grimaced when the ride fell down another extremely short and small drop, and he muttered, “son of a bitch” to himself while Cas shot him an amused glance.

            Soon the ride was over and Dean and Sam and Claire came out laughing. Cas was content and seemed to have enjoyed the ride. He had even seen the movies based off the ride, so he was already in the know. Dean was just irked that the ride betrayed him.

            “What’s next?” Sam questioned looking at his watch. They continued walking out into the sunlight.

            Dean took Cas’s shoulder in his hand. “Promised Cas here he could choose the next two since I took his turn.”

            Sam bitch faced at his brother. “Nice, Dean. Alright Cas, whatcha wanna do next?” He held out the map to Cas so he could take a gander.

            “Well, perhaps since we are already in New Orleans we could do Haunted Mansion. It’s right up your alley, anyway.”

            Dean snorted and Sam nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

            They had to take the walkway by the river and Dean smelled churros that instantly made his tummy grumble. He ignored the pangs and followed Cas, Sam and Claire up the stairs and to the mansion.

            The wait time was thirty minutes, which was longer than they’d had to wait for any rides so far, but they figured as the day progressed this would be how long they’d have to wait or even more so. (It wasn't until after they'd left the parks they had found out there was such things called 'fast passes'. Needless to say, Dean and Sam were pissed.)

            Dean told Claire she had to ride with Cas. She frowned at the thought, but Dean informed her it wasn’t an interactive ride.

            They finally stepped foot inside the mansion and one of the maids led them into a room. She had a monologue and then all the lights turned off.

            Dean felt a presence in front of him. His hair stood on end and because of years of training and learning, he knew when something was near.

            So when the lights turned on and the creepy maid was in front of him, he didn’t’ scream or jump. She stayed in character throughout the entire thing and Dean nodded to her in apology. He couldn’t scare easily.

            Unless there was a sudden drop in complete darkness. Then maybe.

            They went down a hallway with the sound of lightning and rain and the pictures moved and eyes followed where they walked. Claire and Cas hopped in line in front of Sam and Dean, and then got into their own little car.

            Dean and Sam jumped into theirs, and then they were off. It veered through a maze that led to a bunch of ghosts in a dining room and flicked the chairs around to go through hallways in the mansion. Next thing they knew, they were in the ‘graveyard’ and their faces were projected in mirrors and all of a sudden, ghosts were sitting in the ride next to them. Sammy was smiling up a storm, his dimples peeking out, and Dean chuckled at the very, extremely unrealistic ghosts sitting in the seats with them.

            The ride came to a stop and they met Cas and Claire at the exit.

            “How was it?” Sam asked Claire, smile still on his face.

            “Good. I like this one a lot.”

            “Same,” Sam said.

            “So, you hunt those things?” Claire questioned, smirking.

            Dean butted in. “Trust me when I say the ghosts we hunt are much more unpleasant than the magic tricks used for that ride.”

            “Did you know,” Sam said, taking out a piece of paper from his pocket as they walked, “that there are 999 ghosts on the ride? It’s said that the Haunted Mansion can hold 1,000 ghosts, so they leave room for you.”

            Dean rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the Easter egg, Sammy.”

            Sam stuffed the paper in his pocket. Dean felt bad.

            “999 huh? That’s less than you and me have seen in our lifetime,” Dean commented, nudging Sam in the shoulder. He smiled.

            “Alright, Cas, where to?” Dean asked when they were back in sunlight.

            Sam handed Cas the map again and he peered at it through lidded eyes to find what he wanted to do next.

            He smiled. “Dean and I watched these together,” he commented. Dean blushed and looked down to the attraction Cas was pointing at.

            “Indiana Jones, huh?” Claire questioned, raising her eyebrows and looking at Dean. “How cute.”

            Dean frowned at her and handed the map back to Sam.

            “Alright, Indiana Jones it is. C’mon, Cas,” he said, turning the angel around. “It’s in Adventureland. Gotta head this way.”

            Sam and Claire followed in their wake, and Dean and Cas talked about Indiana Jones. Cas’s favorite film was the Temple of Doom, and Dean begged to differ because the first one was awesome cuz, hey, Nazis that Indy took down.

            The line had a wait time of 45 minutes. Dean groaned because he wanted a churro like he’d never wanted anything before and it was starting to blaze heat outside. Cas frowned and Dean pushed him into the line.

            “Come on, Cas. Better get in line before the wait time is pushed to an hour.”

            He followed Cas through the lines of rope that weaved their way around to hold people in. They stopped by the large pyramid.

            Dean leaned in close to Cas’s ear from behind. “After this, we’ll get lunch.”

            Cas nodded and turned around to talk to his group.

            They only ended up waiting about forty minutes before they reached the front of the line. Dean was excited because they were in the sweet ride Indy had. He snapped a picture of himself and Cas on the ride, and a picture of Cas ‘driving’ the car.

            Soon the ride was off into darkness. It veered its way around corners and drove fast through different obstacles and doors. The bridge attempted to break and then a massive ball of stone fell from the roof and appeared as if it would actually hit the car. The floor seemed to give away at that point, and then they drove through a corridor and appeared into the room where bunches of people waited in line for the ride.

            Dean was energized. The ride was awesome, his heart was beating fast and he’d just heard Cas yell, “I’m gonna pee my pants,” in excitement. He was still laughing and he decided, ‘screw Pirates, that ride was awesome’.

            Sam and Claire, who were behind Dean and Cas during the ride, were both chucking. Claire’s braid had fallen out and Sam was bent over, his hair sticking out all over the place.

            “That,” Sam said, running his hand through his hair, “was awesome.”

            “Yeah it was,” Dean agreed as they all caught their breaths to finally head towards the exit.

            “I even got the video of Castiel screaming,” Claire said, smirking.

            “I did not scream!” Cas exclaimed. “I simply let out a noise louder than my normal vocal cords would produce.” 

            “You screamed,” Dean said. Cas pushed his shoulder and went in front of him. Dean smiled at the back of his head like a weirdo.

 

            They all had lunch at Royal Street Veranda in New Orleans Square. They had chowder, save for Cas, who wanted gumbo. They ate quickly, all acting like children giddy to get back out into the game. Dean didn’t even finish his chowder (although, who was he kidding, he was saving room for a churro) before Sam was paying and they were back out into the park.

            “Claire, it’s your turn,” Dean said. Claire stepped onto the train and Sam, Dean and Cas followed her.

            She sighed. “Well, I think Dean and Cas should go do Matterhorn while Sam and I do Star Tours.”

            Dean pointed at her and then looked at Sammy with wide green eyes. “I like that idea.”

            Sam rolled his eyes and smiled. “Fine. The lines will probably have the same wait time anyway.”

            The train veered on down the tracks and the group hopped off at Tomorrowland. Claire and Sam veered opposite Dean and Cas, who had a forty-minute wait time.

            “On the bright side,” Dean said, stopping behind the last person in line. “At least we’re full of food.”

            Cas nodded and Dean reached into his back pocket. He pulled out two sticks of gum.

            “Here,” Dean offered the angel.

            Cas furrowed his brow.

            “Cas, please tell me you know what gum is,” Dean slowly said.

            “I know what it is,” Cas said, annoyed. “I have never tried it before.”

            Dean smiled and pulled back the wrapper on his own. “Take it, put it in your mouth, chew, don’t swallow.”

            His face turned red, and it wasn’t because of the sun.

            Cas was oblivious. He took the gum from Dean’s hand and followed suit.

            His eyes widened. “It’s very…minty.”

            “Yeah…I advise you not to drink your water while chewing that. It hurts like a motherfucker.”

            Dean winced and looked around, making sure no kids heard that.

            He and Cas talked about the rides they’d been on so far, and Dean asked Cas which was his favorite. It was still Space Mountain, though Cas liked Indiana Jones as his second favorite. It was Dean’s favorite, however.

            “So question,” Dean started when they were near the front of the line. “Is it weird being here and seeing all the happiness and magical aspects that aren’t in the real world? You know, like, there’s no horror and terror and everyone is happy, even if there are annoyed parents rounding up their kids and stuff?”

            Cas’s eyes brightened. “Yes, I would say so. As I said before, this place is much like an entirely new world. I am ashamed to say this, but I have at times forgotten about the darkness and what is going on with the world outside of the park.”

            Dean nodded. “Same here. Which is sort of bad, but at the same time, I haven’t had this much fun since I was a little kid.”

            “You deserve it, too,” Cas informed him.

            “Thanks Cas.”

            Cas squeezed Dean’s hand and he blushed. He let go of it just as fast, and two minutes later, they were getting into their bobsled. Cas was in front of Dean so Dean could watch him. But he didn’t tell Cas that bit of information.

            The ride started and they were lurching up the mountain and rounding it as well. Soon enough, they reached the peak and the ride sped down the mountain. Dean smiled as the wind made his eyes tear up.

            There was an unexpected yeti…yeah, Dean was pretty sure it was a yeti. He couldn’t remember. He was too busy laughing his ass off because Cas screamed worse than on Indiana Jones and he even turned around to look at Dean to make sure he was there. Yeah, it was really mean, but it was too damned hilarious not to laugh at.

            They reached the bottom and Cas got hit with a wall of water while Dean was hit with little speckles of it.

            Needless to say, Cas was a huffy child and Dean was the inconspicuous laughing dad who attempted not to smile or laugh when the child looked at him.

            “It’ll dry, Cas. It’s, like, 75 degrees out.”

            “It’s my new shirt, Dean,” Cas said stiffly.

            “I thought you would know, being a celestial all-knowing being and all, that water doesn’t stain,” Dean said sarcastically.

            Cas glared at him and Dean pushed him to start walking. “I know what’ll cheer you up,” he said. “A nice, sugary churro.”

 

            The churro did indeed cheer him up. So did a bottle of water. Dean assumed Cas was dehydrated which could have led to his grumpy phase. And maybe his egging on did as well.

            “Hey Cas, now your shirt actually is you!”

            Yeah, that hadn’t gone over too well. Cas ended up walking ahead of Dean for a good five minutes. He even went into a store to buy some aviator sunglasses so as to get away from Dean. Dean just chuckled when he walked out of the store and apologized. A minute later, Cas was back to his normal self and delved into a conversation about the early construction of Disneyland.

            Sam and Claire had just gotten off their ride and were now on their way to meet Dean and Cas in the best part of the park- Fantasyland.

            They were sitting on a little bench that wound its way around a tiny garden and statue. Cas was still munching on his churro and Dean was taking a swig of Cas’s second water.

            “Look!” Cas pointed towards a little tree house and under it was Peter Pan. Dean smirked.

            “Peter Pan?” Dean questioned.

            “Yes. I enjoyed the film immensely,” Cas said, bits of cinnamon and sugar hanging on the corners of his mouth. Dean held in a laugh.

            “You want a picture with Peter?” Dean asked, half joking and half serious.

            Cas seemed to ponder his question.

            “Why not?” He shoved the rest of the churro in his mouth and swiped his water bottle from Dean to take a drink. “Let’s go.”

            Dean gripped the angel’s shirt in his hands. “Hold on there, turbo.”

            Cas looked at Dean quizzically. "What?"

            Dean’s heart beat faster in his chest and he told himself it was no big deal. He reached his hand up to Cas’s mouth and wiped off the sugar granules that clung there.

            “Okay, now that that preschool moment is over,” Dean said, purposefully not staring at Cas, “let’s go get your picture with Peter.”

            Cas walked next to Dean and as they grew closer, Dean got a better look at Peter.

            Who was indeed a woman actress.

            And she was hot. Gorgeous, even.

            “Peter Pan is a woman,” Dean commented. Cas turned to him.

            “Actually, Dean, in all original plays, Peter was portrayed by a woman. It is quite common.”

            Dean rolled his eyes without Cas seeing. He turned back to Peter and she was gone.

            “Shit,” Dean said. Cas looked over as well and frowned. “Sorry, Cas.”

            “It’s alright. Perhaps he or she will be here tomorrow.”

            “That’s right,” Dean said optimistically. “In the meantime, I see the Queen of Hearts and I’m pretty sure that’s Winnie the Pooh over there. Want any pictures with them?”

            Cas nodded.

 

            Cas and Sam were off getting pictures with Mary Poppins and Bert. Claire and Dean decided to hang back by the garden and statue. She was eating a turkey leg and Dean mentally punched himself for forgetting the lunch he’d wanted earlier today.

            “Can I have a bite?”

            “Absolutely not.”

            Dean crossed his arms over his chest and watched Sam and Cas in line for Bert and Mary Poppins behind a line of kids and parents.

            “That looks absolutely ridiculous,” Dean said, smirking at his brother and his best friend.

            Claire snorted. “Yeah, you should have seen your brother after we got off Star Tours. He basically jumped into a Storm Trooper’s lap to get a picture.”

            Dean grinned. “Nerd.”

            “You would want one, too. Don’t kid yourself,” she said, taking another big bite of the meat.

            “God dammit, I want one of those,” Dean said.

            “Go get your own. I ain’t sharing,” she said, moving her turkey leg farther away from him.

            Dean shook his head. “Nah, I’ll wait for Cas. He might want one.”

            Claire swallowed and eyed her turkey leg for where she would bite next. “Yeah,” she said, not bringing her blue eyes that matched Cas’s away from her snack. “What’s up with you two, anyway? I know I said last night I didn’t want to pry, but I kind of have to now.”

            Dean raised his eyebrows. “You have to now?”

            Claire nodded. “Uh huh. Because Sam isn’t gonna ask you- he thinks it’s your own business. And I’m curious and want to know. Also, your buddy boy is wearing my dad…so you know, kinda want to know what you’re doing with it.”

            Dean blushed hardcore and Claire smirked.

            “Okay, so I don’t want to know that much. Just…you obviously like him, right?”

            Dean shook his head. “I don’t know why we’re talking about this. Couldn’t you ask me about anything else? Hell, Death, being a demon? I’ll gladly answer.”

            “No. Maybe someday, actually. Kind of want to know what being a demon was like. But now, I’m curious about you and Castiel.”

            Dean shook his head and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and pointer finger.

            “Cas and I have been friends for seven years now. He saved me from Hell and he’s odd. He sticks around.”

            Claire rolled her eyes. “That was pathetic.”

            “It’s true.”

            “Obviously, but those aren’t the juicy details I was looking for,” she said.

            Dean looked at her. “Aren’t you the quiet, brooding type?”

            Claire shrugged. “I am also a girl and am genuinely curious about gossip and anything going on between people I am associated with.”

            Dean looked off to Cas again. They were closer to the characters now.

            He sighed. “Fine. But don’t be mouthing off to Sam or Cas or anyone, okay? Not even Donna.”

            Claire crossed her heart and Dean rolled his eyes.

            “I don’t talk about it and try not to think about it, so it’s not like I’m a schoolgirl with a crush or anything. I just like Cas. Genuinely, and a little more than that.”

            Claire didn’t laugh or joke. She just leaned back and took a sip of her soda. “So you, in schoolgirl terms, which we are definitely not talking about, like-like Cas?”

            Dean nodded. “I guess. If that’s the simplest way to put it.”

            “You like him more than a friend, less than a lover,” Claire suggested, biting at her straw.

            Dean shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that. I like him more than a friend…maybe not the second part.”

            Claire choked. “Whoa, whoa! You mean, more than a friend, _especially_ like a lover?”

            Dean’s face turned red and his ears grew hot and it had nothing to do with the sun, which was blaring down now.

            “I don’t know. I guess! I try not to think about it often or ever because it doesn’t mean anything anyway,” he offered, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible. She grinned.

            “Uh, hell yeah it does! You love Castiel. _'You've got it made with the guy in_ _shades_ '!" Claire laughed after singing. "Dean, it doesn’t matter if you think about it often. It’s there, isn’t it? Besides, you can’t just turn off the feelings when you talk and look at him all day,” she said, leaning closer to Dean now.

            Dean sighed and shook his head, looking down at his hands.

            A turkey leg appeared in his vision.

            “Need a bite?” Claire questioned.

            Dean rolled his eyes and took it from her, taking a big bite.

            “God, that’s so fucking good,” he said.

            “Okay, I’ve offered you the meat of the Gods. Now keep talking,” Claire said, not stopping Dean when he went in for a second, greasy bite.

            “Fine, yeah, I like Cas and I think about it a lot and have for a long time. I don’t care if he reciprocates it or not really. I can’t have him in this life.”

            _Lies. I’m really, extremely, tremendously worried he wouldn’t reciprocate my feelings. She doesn’t need to know that._

“He would reciprocate it and you can have him in your life, you’re just feeling sorry for yourself. Also, you worry about everyone you love, but you don’t have to with Cas. He’s a strong motherfucker. He should be the one worried for _you_. You’re the human and he’s the super strong angel.”

            Dean huffed a laugh. “Yeah. His grace isn’t up to par yet, he’s a criminal to Heaven, and he just got healed from this attack dog spell that nearly tore him apart, so.”

            “Still stronger than you. Doesn’t have to be physically, you know.” Claire took her turkey leg back. “I’m not one to tell you how to do things, especially because you’re annoying and you also act like a lame dad, but I like Cas and I want him to be happy, so I’d advise you to tell him how you feel and all that crap. Because he deserves happiness, too. And he’ll reciprocate it- don’t give me that ‘I’m not afraid’ shit. Everyone is afraid about that,” she said, taking a bite. “And our conversation is over,” she said, nodding to Cas and Sam who were walking back to them. “Do or do not, there is no try.”

            “Did you just use Yoda wisdom on my ass?”

            “Yup,” Claire said. “Nice having a deep, inspirational convo with you, Dean. Let’s not do it often.”

            “Agreed,” Dean said, annoyed. Sam and Cas reached them and he looked up. “Hey guys! What’s next?”

            Sam stretched, making him appear taller than he was.

            “Cas and I were thinking we’d head back to the resort to take a power nap. Who’d have thought riding rides would be exhausting.”

            Dean shrugged. “Sounds good to me. I’m buying one of those turkey legs on the way out, though.”

            “Dean, that’s so bad for your already grease- filled body,” Sam said, his nose scrunching.

            “A little more can’t hurt!” Dean exclaimed.

            “Good luck on that heart attack,” Sam said.

            “Thank you,” Dean replied. “We heading out?”

            “Yep. Let’s go.”

            They all made for Main Street and Dean bought himself a turkey leg. He did end up sharing it with Cas though, and he couldn’t stop thinking about what Claire said.

            Well, he wouldn’t dwell on it now while him and Cas were having a fun time ripping meat off a leg and Sam was looking like he was going to vomit.

            He’d mull it over while he attempted to sleep.

            That way he could wake up and forget about it.

            Or not.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting patiently! Also, I'm a day late and a dollar short. I wouldn't say this is a filler chapter since it sets up the 'case', but it doesn't have much substance to it either. Anyway, enjoy!

"The human world...it's a mess." -Sebastian, The Little Mermaid

* * *

 

 

Dean woke up around six o’clock. Cas was snoring up a storm on the bed next to him. It was still a little light outside and the last streams of golden sunlight cast shadows into their room. Dean glanced at his phone. Neither Sam nor Claire had texted him, which meant they weren’t awake. Or they’d texted Cas.

            Dean peeked one more time at Cas before standing up and walking over to his side of the nightstand to pick up his phone to check.

            He clicked the home button and was surprised to see a picture of himself and Cas staring back at him. It was a picture Cas had taken of them earlier today at the Space Mountain ride, right by the sign. Normally a friendly picture of him and Cas wouldn’t shock him, but Cas’s lock and home screen had always been pictures of cats from the moment he’d gotten it. And that was close to two years ago.

            There was no text from Claire or Sam, so he gently set the phone back down on the table, his heart pounding. He slipped on his shoes and decided to head down to the lobby to find some food. His stomach was craving a good old-fashioned sandwich and he needed to find something to occupy himself…and his mind.

 

            He took the elevator rather than the stairs because he was lazy and on vacation, and to be honest he was really enjoying the elevator music. Motels didn’t have that type of shit and though annoying, it was kinda fun.

            The elevator doors opened at the sound of a ‘ding’ and Dean smiled to the vacationers waiting to enter. He glanced around the lobby, watching the hustle and bustle of people in a hurry to get to the parks or struggling with their luggage.

            “Where the hell can a guy get some food around here?” He started walking left because it seemed like a better chance of finding something. “Ugh, big cities suck,” he commented under his breath after a man ran into him without apologizing.

            Dean peeked around the corner and was shocked to see a group of policemen surrounded by worried parents rather than a simple walk-in to get a damned sandwich.

            Another policeman was guarding the doors to the room, so Dean quickly turned around and leaned against the wall, straining to hear what the police officers were saying.         

            “My kid is somewhere out there and I read somewhere that Disneyland was supposed to find lost children by their footprints! I demand to know the truth. Are you even trying your hardest?” This came from a woman whose voice sounded smoke-damaged and Dean wanted to clear his throat out for her.

            “Ma’am, I can assure you we are doing everything to find these kids. It’s been four days and ten children are missing. Yours is one of those, and it is most likely they were taken out of the parks.”

            Dean let out a deep breath. “That’s fucking rough,” he commented under his breath.

            “While you wait,” came a voice from a snivelly, awkward sounding man, “we can assure you complimentary accommodations in our hotel for as long as it takes.”

            “We don’t want your accommodations!” This was another woman. “We want our kids!”

            “Ma’am, as I’ve already told Mrs. Darling here, we are putting on a search inside and outside of the parks. We are doing everything we can.”

            “And we’re going to help,” said a man with a deep, rumbling voice. “We’ll take the rooms.”

            Dean peeked around the corner again. The doors were opening and two police officers and three couples began to exit the room.

            “Mrs. Darling, could I ask you what your son looks like?” The officer stopped and the woman pulled out her phone and showed him a picture. Dean took a look at it and his stomach dropped. He had to be six at the most.

            “Fuck.” He leaned his head against the wooden beam.

            “Now please,” the officer started, “we don’t want to work up the families visiting, so let’s keep quiet about this and make sure it's on the down low, shall we? We don’t need parents getting worked up and fussy about these kidnappings.”

            “Kidnappings!” the cigarette-mouthed woman exclaimed and Dean heard a thump on the floor, indicating fainting.

            He peeked around again and one officer looked to the next. “That _is_ normally what it’s called when a bunch of children go missing, isn’t it?”

            The other officer clicked his gum. “Presumably so,” he offered.

            Dean got out of there. It made his stomach drop and he wanted to kill the human who decided it was okay to steal kids from their parents at the happiest place on earth. People were fucked up.

            He continued to walk, feeling sick to his stomach. His appetite was gone now and all he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and worry. But he wasn’t going to do that. He would watch for that kid in the park and he would make sure no other kids were taken if he saw something of a struggle. He felt bad for the parents.

            The elevator doors opened on his floor and he stalked down the hallway slower than usual. He slid his key card into the door and entered his room. Cas was awake now. He was sitting on his bed and the TV was on. His hair was sticking up in two places and Dean wanted to smile, but his heart wasn’t in the right place.

            “Where were you?” Cas questioned Dean, not mad, just curious.

            “Went downstairs to find food,” he replied, sitting on the end of his bed. He looked up and saw _Hercules_ playing.

            “Did you find anything? I am a little hungry as well.”

            “Nah. Lost my appetite. I heard something pretty disturbing.” He turned on the bed so his body was faced towards the angel’s.

            Cas pressed mute on the remote and let his eyes drift to Dean’s. “What was it?”

            Dean sighed. “Kids are being kidnapped here. In the parks. I think the officers said ten kids in four days or something like that.”

            Cas’s eyes widened.

            “Yeah. And the officers were douche hats because they told the families they were keeping it on the down low so people didn’t worry. What if the kidnapper does it again? That’s on them.”

            Cas stood up and then took a seat next to Dean on his bed. The look on his face informed him he knew exactly what Dean was thinking. “That’s right. It is on them, Dean. It’s disturbing, but this one isn’t on you. You don’t have to find these kids. Your job is hunting. You get rid of the monsters and horrors. Not the people who act as such.”

            Dean let out a deep breath. “I just feel…” 

            “How humans are supposed to feel when something like this happens.” Cas slowly brought his warm hand up to Dean’s back and hesitated, waiting for a sign, waiting for Dean to freak out on him. Instead, Dean leaned back into the presence he felt and Cas set his hand on his back, rubbing up and down in a comforting way. Dean had done this to Sammy before, when he was younger. When he was sad dad wouldn’t be there for Christmas. Or when he had to leave to a new school. Or if he spilled milk on the ground and was afraid his father would yell at him. It comforted his brother, and Dean just now understood how it did.

            “Do you want to go and get some pie? I believe there is a place in Downtown Disney where we can buy some.”

            Dean turned to Cas and the hand stopped. Perhaps because now Dean was acknowledging Cas’s presence and staring into his eyes since he’d first walked into the room.

            “That sounds good. Should we wake up Sam and Claire?”

            Cas shrugged. “If you would like to. I thought maybe you and I could just go.”

            Dean tried not to analyze that.

            “Yeah, let’s go.”

            Cas stood up, removing his hand from Dean completely. He slipped to the end of his bed and pulled his boots on. He clicked the power button on the TV, and then they headed for the door.

            “Did you get your key card?” Dean questioned him.

            “Do you have yours?” Cas asked back.

            “Yeah.”

            “Well, when you come back to the room, I will, too.”

            “You got your angel blade?”

            Cas sighed and pulled it up from his back pocket. “Don’t worry. I have been using my angel Grace to hide it from humans.”

            “Good.”

 

            Dean and Cas were sitting across from one another at the same place they’d eaten last night. Dean had a warm coffee resting in his hand even though it was on the table, and his warm apple pie was steaming in front of him though he hadn’t taken a bite yet. Cas had his apple pie half finished and his hot chocolate was whip creamed up the wazoo.

            Cas eyed Dean’s pie and he stopped chewing. “Dean, please eat. At least a little.”

            Since Cas asked nicely (and sort of because hunger pangs started to return), Dean obeyed. It was a fantastic pie and it mixed well with his coffee, but he was still hung up on the kids. Cas knew he felt that way, too, and he was attempting to distract Dean from it. Dean appreciated Cas for trying, but not even pie would work this time. He felt he needed to help these people. Cas was right about that- this wasn’t Dean’s fight.

            “Did you want to see a movie tonight?”

            Dean paused mid-chew and looked at Cas. What did that mean? Hell, he should ask.

            “What do you mean?” Dean questioned him. Cas shrugged and took a sip of his hot chocolate, whipped cream dotting his nose and staining his upper lip. Dean smirked.

            “I mean,” Cas started, wiping the stain off with his tongue (and Dean didn’t stare…a whole lot), “movies are quite fun, and there is an IMAX theater here. Perhaps we could see a movie.”

            “To distract me,” Dean commented, eyebrow raised.

            “No,” Cas said. “Well, if it does, then great. But I’d like to see the new superhero movie.”

            Dean looked down into his coffee. It was mostly gone and the last couple of swallows were going to have coffee grain chunks in them.

            “Yeah, why not?” Dean said. Cas smiled at him. He bit his lip and reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of ones.

            Dean’s brows furrowed. “Where did you get all that?”

            Cas grinned. “I once had a job, Dean. Contrary to what you previously thought, I do have money to spend here.”

            Dean nodded, pursing his lips. “Not bad, Cas.”

            “We need to go now. The movie is going to start in fifteen minutes and it’s on the other side of Downtown Disney.”

            Dean stood up while Cas stuck a couple of dollars under the napkin holder. Dean wouldn’t tell him it probably wasn’t a good idea to do that in a big city, especially outside where waiters wouldn’t come for a while.

            “Okay, but I need to call Sam and let him know.”

            “I already have,” Cas replied. Dean’s eyes widened, but he quickly got over his shock, and then they were speeding and maneuvering through people to get to the other side.

 

            Dean immensely enjoyed himself at the movie. He and Cas sat at the very back of the theater, the IMAX was massive, and he got to watch Cas embarrass himself when he spilled an entire large bag of popcorn on the floor in front of him when something in the movie popped out and scared him.

            He couldn’t stop laughing at that point, and then the body builder dude next to him informed him to shut up, but Dean couldn’t. They ended up having to leave the theater by that point because Dean was doubled over with laughter, eyes crinkling in the corners, and Cas had to wash the hot butter off of his pants in the bathroom.

            Dean followed him and watched Cas paper towel and water the shit out of his jeans, but ultimately they were stained with grease and it looked like the angel peed his pants. Cas was super pissed because his grace was 'rebooting', whatever that meant, so he couldn't just zap the stain out like he'd done with Dean the night before. He took his frustrations out by dabbing the grease with a paper towel.

            Finally, Dean settled down and told Cas they would buy him some pants. Cas was embarrassed to have people see him and also pissed because the movie wasn’t over, but Dean told him they would rent it when it came out and that it was dark outside so no one would notice.

            That was a lie. People did notice. But Cas didn’t really see people stare because Dean was distracting him by telling him some stories about Sammy in his younger years.

            For whatever reason, Cas was really intrigued by Dean and Sam’s past.

            They entered a normal, non-Disney store and found a pair of jeans. Because they were brand name they cost an arm and a leg, but Dean thought it was worth it. Cas went into the dressing room to try them on and they fit him in all the right places. Dean had to shift awkwardly and give him a thumbs up, poker facing the entire time.

            Cas kept the pants on and they walked up to the register with the tag. The employee took off the ink tag resting on Cas’s hip before letting them go.

            “Better?” Dean questioned Cas as they exited into the California night.

            “Definitely. I’m sorry I ruined your jeans,” Cas apologized. Dean chuckled.

            “Don’t worry about it, man. The holes in them weren’t for fashion.”

            Cas smiled and checked his phone.

            “Sam sent me a text message.”

            Dean asked him what it said and Cas handed him his phone.

            _Claire and I r gonna watch fireworks and parade. U gonna join?_

Dean gave the phone back.

“Tell him we’ll watch. Ask him where he is.”

            Cas walked and texted at the same time and Dean made sure he didn’t run into anything or anybody.

            They entered the parks fifteen minutes later and found Sam and Claire ten minutes after that. The parade had just started at that time, and people were seriously glued to each other and kept moving closer and closer to the gated off areas. Dean was feeling extremely claustrophobic and Cas got lost at one point so when Dean found him squished between four people, he yanked him out of there by his new jeans and held his hand (which was becoming extremely easy to do) as they weaved through people. They found Claire and Sam near the castle and Dean let out a deep breath and stole Sam’s water to take a giant swig from.

            Cas thanked him as the parade reached their area and people started screaming at Jasmine and Aladdin. Dean smiled at him.

            The parade was long and a little boring, but Dean could see how little kids would like it. Hell, Sam liked it, and that was as good as a kid. Claire took pictures for the sheriffs and Cas snapped a picture of him and Dean when Mickey Mouse’s float came by.

            After the parade, people turned around to watch the magic of the castle.

            Sam and Cas were talking about the “jean story”, which precipitated the serious conversation in which Sam scolded Dean for spending more than seventy dollars on a pair of jeans.

            “Yolo. Isn’t that what the kids are saying these days?” Dean questioned Claire, eyes dropping to her.

            Claire shook her head, smile turning into a frown. “Please, don’t ever say that again.”

            Dean smirked and she rolled her eyes.

            Suddenly, music started playing and conversation died down to a dull roar while the castle lit up with colors and a woman’s voice recording came up talking about Walt Disney. Dean stepped up by Cas, leaving Claire in the dust.

            Different Disney movie scenes appeared on the castle as the music kicked in and then fireworks exploded in the sky.

            The music switched from _The Little Mermaid_ to _The Lion King_ to _Frozen._ Dean was awestruck at the scene in front of him and he had to keep his eyes moving from the massive fireworks striking multitudes of colors in the sky to the scenes being depicted on the castle.

            After an amazing twenty-minute display, the lights dimmed and the castle went dark as a woman started singing a song about magic and then the beam lights stuck straight up into the night sky.

            Sam turned to Dean, his green-gold eyes wide and mesmerized. Dean hadn’t seen the look since he was a kid.

            Cas, too, had eyes filled with wonder. He handed Sam his phone wordlessly and the younger Winchester snapped a picture of him and Dean, and then Claire took it and got one of the three of them. She and Cas also took a picture.

            They all left the mob of people and made it to Main Street in one piece.

            None of them had really said a word to one another since the end of the show, but now Sam was full of words.

            “I think we should go and see the President Lincoln presentation. Or we could go and watch Steamboat Willie,” Sam said, looking around and pointing to Lincoln's Theater.

            “I think I’ll pass,” Dean said. “I’m tired and staring without blinking for a good twenty minutes killed my eyes.”

            “That’s fine,” Sam said, smiling at his brother. “Cas?”

            Cas shook his head. “Dean is my key. I mean, he has the key. To the room.”

            Dean blushed. “Yeah, Cas forgot his key card and I’ll probably be sleeping so he can’t knock without pissing me off,” he covered.

            “Right,” Claire said, grinning. “Have a good night guys.”

            They nodded and Claire winked at Dean. He rolled his eyes.

 

            As soon as they entered their hotel room, Dean plopped himself face down on his bed. His eyes stung from staring too long at the lights (that wasn’t a lie), and his body was shaking from exhaustion. He needed a shower, bad. He smelled like greasy popcorn butter and stinky, California night air.

            “I’m so tired,” Dean said, voice muffled against the thick comforter. Cas huffed a laugh and sat down on his bed. He didn’t turn the TV on, though. Dean turned to look at him.

            “What, no _Mouse Detectives_ or anything?”

            Cas shook his head and Dean’s scrunched up left eye squeezed even tighter when he smiled.

            “I’m tired as well,” Cas said. “Those fireworks were amazing, weren’t they?”

            “Yeah,” Dean started, “better than watching from the patio.”

            Cas nodded.

            “You gonna shower first, or do you want me to?”

            The angel nodded to the shower. “Go ahead.”

            Dean rolled onto his back, but his head turned so he was still looking at him.

            “Are you alright?” Dean asked him.

            “Yes,” Cas replied. “I think I am just…becoming enraptured in this place.”

            “Like, forgetting all the real world stuff or…?”

            Cas nodded. “Yes, that. But also the magical aspect of it.”

            Dean sat up. “Same here, Cas. This place is actually really awesome. I’m gonna go shower.”

            Dean thought he could vaguely hear Cas say, “That’s not what I meant,” but he’d already entered the bathroom before he could clarify those words.

 

            Dean was almost asleep when Cas exited he bathroom smelling like peaches. The only light came from the crack of the bathroom door. He slowly opened one eye and was graced with the scene of Cas with a crisp, white towel wrapped low around his waist and his wet hair dripping water onto his naked torso, which was lean and fit. He had a piece of toilet paper stuck to a cut on his cheek, which seemed to be the only flaw on him and still looked spectacular to Dean.

            He bent down to his duffle and shuffled through it. Dean tried to tell himself to close his eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to. _Do or do not, there is no try._

            Cas stood back up with a pair of boxers and Dean’s old pajama pants. He must have forgotten his clothes.

            Suddenly, Cas’s eyes met Dean’s and the human’s heart stopped. His eyes widened.

            “Dean?” Cas whispered. Ironically, Dean found it to be hilarious.

            “What’s up?” Dean answered, trying to keep his cool.

            “Are you awake?” Cas asked.

            “Obviously,” he replied, internally rolling his eyes. To cover himself up, he added, “I heard you ruffling through your bag.”

            “Oh,” Cas replied. “I’m sorry.”

            “It’s fine, Cas. Have a good night.”

            Dean adjusted so he way lying on his side.

            “You too, Dean.”

           

           

           

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a little extra time and a whole lotta inspiration, so I decided to write another chapter. Happy reading!

"Always let your conscience be your guide!" -Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio

* * *

 

 

Dean woke up early. He knew this because it was still dark out, but he could hear chirping birds outside the window. He yawned silently so as to not wake Cas up. The angel had his back facing Dean and he was breathing heavily, though he wasn’t snoring like usual. Dean smiled at the back of his head and then wiped the sleep out of his eyes before taking his phone off of the nightstand to check the time.

            _Five- thirty. Ugh._

Dean clicked the button to make his phone sleep and then he swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up. He rubbed his eyes and made his way to the bathroom. That’s what he got for drinking literally five cups of really shitty California water last night.

            Finally, Dean regained his vision and his senses came to him, and he realized Cas had thrown all of the towels on the ground to mop up water. He scowled at the ground and rolled his eyes. He wasn’t angry with Cas. He only wondered how in the hell someone could get that much water on the floor.

            Dean shook his head and turned the bathroom light off. He dressed in the dark and snatched his phone from the bedside table. Dean slowly closed the heavy door and heard it click behind him. He slunk down the utterly silent hallway and hopped into the elevator, humming the tinny song it was playing.

            The doors opened and Dean was surprised to see quite a few people in the lobby at such early hours. Then again, planes were dumb and decided people had to fly at all hours of the morning. That’s why he drove.

            Okay, partly why he drove.

            Dean weaved through the furniture and walked straight up to the front desk.          

            “How can I help you?” the concierge asked. He eyed Dean up and down and leaned forward, a flirtatious smile on his face. He had to have been in his mid twenties at most. He wasn’t half-bad looking, but the way he stared at Dean and leaned into his personal space (which he really didn’t like unless it was someone who didn’t understand the concept…like Cas) made him feel uncomfortable.

            “Uh yeah…” Dean started, watching the man’s eyes drop to his torso. “My uh, my _husband_ and I need extra towels, please.” He promised himself he wouldn’t use the ‘husband’ card, but this guy was seriously creeping Dean out.

            The man’s smile faltered a little and he leaned back, cutting Dean some slack. The hunter let out a breath. “Ah. Towels. I get ya,” the guy said, winking at Dean. Dean wanted to sucker punch the dude, but instinct told him no. He was just a creepy human.

            “Yes, room service only brought one towel for us, which is pretty poor on your hotel faculties’ part.”

            Dean turned around to see none other than Cas. He had obviously gotten up a couple of minutes ago. His hair was in disarray and his eyes were squinty with sleep. To top it off, he was wearing his pajamas and socks.

            “Hello Dean.” Cas stopped next to Dean at the desk and Dean didn’t reply. Not only was he shocked, he was confused as hell. “The towels, please. My husband and I are in a hurry.”           

            The concierge nodded in a stoic manner, seemingly frightened by Cas, and hurried to the back room to fetch them some towels.

            Dean turned to Cas and whispered, “What are you doing?”

            Cas didn’t look at him. “I followed you and noticed this man was being utterly- Thank you!” Cas exclaimed when the concierge placed the towels on the counter.

            “Will that be all?”

            “Yes.” Cas placed some bills on the table to tip and Dean widened his eyes. “That will be all. Good day.”

            Cas picked up the towels and Dean stood in his spot before following Cas.

            “Continue,” Dean said.

            “What?”

            “What were you doing?”

            “That man was making you uncomfortable and was staring at you in a way that I have come to believe as lust. So I interfered because I overheard you say ‘husband’. Thus, I showed up as your husband. I believe ‘thanks’ should be in order.”

            Dean scrunched his face up, picking up his pace to walk next to Cas. “Uh yeah, I could have handled it myself.”

            “Oh, I’m sure you could have. But he would not have believed your false story unless he had proof. He was one of those men, and so I came as proof.”

            Dean sighed. “Well thanks I guess.”

            Dean dodged a chair and almost ran into a kid who was standing without parents. He didn’t turn back, but he did look up in a mirror to see the kid, and what he saw was unexpected and shocking.

            The kid wore a simple red and blue striped shirt and jeans, but his face was gone. There were dark, sunken eyes and he had a circular mouth full of teeth. Otherwise known to be a changeling.

            Dean noticed he had stopped and the kid started walking towards the entrance of the building. Cas was still making his way towards the elevator. Dean wondered if he should run to try to follow kid, but he realized it was too late now. On the bright side, he knew there was a monster in the building and it obviously wasn’t the kid since changelings have one mother.

            Dean ran up to Cas, almost bumping into him in the process. Cas stabilized the towels and glared at Dean.

            “What?” Cas questioned him, pressing the button to call the elevator.

            “Cas, I just saw a changeling,” Dean told him. Cas’s brows furrowed.

            “A changeling?”

            “Yeah, you know a-.”

            “-I know what they are, Dean. But how did you see it?”

            Dean pointed to the mirror. “In there. I accidentally bumped into him and looked in the mirror to see who he was.”

            Cas contemplated Dean’s story. The doors to the elevator opened and they stepped in.

            “Well, it would make sense,” Cas finally said. Dean turned to him.

            “What would?” Dean questioned him.

            “The kidnappings. Children are kidnapped from the parks and changelings take their shape. Find the mother and kill her and the changelings die.”

            Dean shrugged. “Yeah, but the kids are normally sent to the family of the kid they take shape of to feed off of the parents.”      

            Cas yawned. “Maybe this one has a different idea. Who knows? But kidnappings in Disneyland are rare if present at all.”

            Dean thought about this. Cas was right. Kids never disappeared from Disneyland. And if he saw a changeling, which he was sure he did, it would be the biggest clue to the kidnappings.

            The doors opened and Cas and Dean headed down the hallway in silence. Dean was still contemplating the idea of changelings and Cas appeared to be too sleepy to contribute.

            They stopped at the door and Cas waited for Dean to open it. He patted down his pockets and dug into them and came up empty each time.

            “And you were the one nagging me about bringing my card,” Cas mumbled, and Dean stopped frantically searching to bitch face at him.

            “Did you bring your card?” Dean asked him, preparing for the worst.

            “Actually, yes,” Cas informed him. “It’s in my shirt pocket.”

            Dean brought his hand up to Cas’s chest and pulled the card from his pocket. He opened up the door and Cas set the towels on the bathroom counter.

            “What the hell happened in there anyway?” Dean asked the angel as he kicked off his shoes and lay back on his bed.

            Cas sighed. “I forgot to put the inner curtain in the shower.”

            Dean chuckled and watched as Cas lay in his bed and pull the covers up to his chin.

            “Did I wake you up?” Dean asked him. Cas opened his eyes.

            “No. Well, I heard the door shut and I was wondering where you were going so early in the morning.”

            “Sorry,” Dean said. Cas shook his head as if to tell him it didn’t matter.

            “I’m going to sleep for a little while,” Cas informed Dean, and then he added a little, “honey.”

            Cas smirked with his eyes closed and Dean huffed a laugh. Cas turned over, back facing Dean. He stared at the angel, watching how his breathing transformed from a normal pace to deep, tired breaths.

            Dean figured now that he knew there was a monster that was most likely in the park stealing kids and having her kids take their shape, it was his and Sam’s time to intrude. Officers wouldn’t have any clue how to handle this, nor would they even know where to start looking. This was the Winchester advantage: mirrors. They’d have to carry mirrors, and if they could find one and interrogate it, perhaps they could capture the mother and kill it before fireworks explode in the night sky.

            And if they couldn’t find it by tomorrow…well, then they’d get an extended vacation.

            Dean didn’t succeed in falling asleep again (his mind was going a million miles an hour), so he decided he’d take another shower and turn on the TV.

            However, when he left the bathroom after a short shower, Cas was awake. The parks were opening in twenty minutes for those who were staying in the resort hotels, and Cas wanted to be there again.

            “Okay Cas,” Dean said when he noticed Cas was awake. “New plan.”

            “What is it, Dean?” Cas questioned him, staring at his 6’1” figure from his pillow.

            “We’re gonna go into the parks. We’re gonna have a hell of a time. But we’re also going to keep our eyes out for changelings. We have to catch it, man, because it’s gonna go right over the police men’s heads and they’ll never find those kids.”

            Cas smiled. “Alright.”

            Dean waited for a negation, but Cas didn’t have anything to add.

            “Alright,” Dean replied. “Get dressed and let’s go see if Sam and Claire are awake.

 

            Cas wore his new, expensive jeans and one of Dean’s old Zeppelin t-shirts. He looked hot, but Dean didn’t comment on that part.

            They knocked on Sam and Claire’s door and the teenager opened it. She didn’t say anything, just shot them a glare, and backed up to allow them to come in. Between her and Sam, they had bundles of clothes on the floor and bed and random wrappers and bags scattered the room. It made Dean feel better about his and Cas’s extremely clean room.

            “Where’s uh…” Dean looked around the room. “Where’s Sammy?”

            Claire shrugged. “Said he had to go and get more shampoo from downstairs.”

            Dean snorted. “How much does he put in his freaking hair?”

            Claire shrugged and stuffed some items into her purse. Dean sat down on what he assumed was Sam’s bed since it had his clothes on it, and Cas leaned against the wall. Claire eyed both of them, rolled her eyes and then headed into the bathroom mumbling something about ‘brushing her teeth’. It was at that point Sam graced them with his presence. He nodded politely to Dean and Cas and then entered the bathroom. Dean heard Claire mutter a foamy, “Really, dude?”

            “I like our room,” Dean commented. Cas turned to him. “It doesn’t have that abrasive ambiance to it.” Cas smirked at the joke.

            Claire exited the bathroom and pulled her purse strap over her head. “C’mon Sam!”

            “Be right out,” Sam’s muffled voice said.

            Claire looked to Dean and Cas. “You missed a pretty fun night last night.”

            Dean raised his eyebrows. “How come?”

            “We went on Matterhorn in the dark. And the teacups. You know, like the ones in the old Disney movie commercials on VHS’s where they’d show the family heading to Disneyland and then riding in the teacups?”

            Dean stared at her blankly, as did Cas.

            “Okay, your childhood sucked,” Claire said, pointing to Dean. “And you have an excuse but your life sucked.”

            Cas merely opened his eyes wider.

            “Okay, I’m ready,” Sam said, entering the room. He was wearing a _Nightmare Before Christmas_ shirt.

            “What’s this?” Dean questioned his brother, pinching the shirt’s material in his fingers as he swept past him.

            Sam smirked at the irony of the phrase that coincided with a song from the movie.

            “A fantastic movie is what it is,” Sam replied.

            Dean opened the door. “Alright Sammy, now I don’t give a shit since you used sarcasm and the moment of curiosity has passed.”

            Sam rolled his eyes and then they were heading out to the parks.

 

            On the way there, Dean handed Sam Ruby’s knife and Claire one of his smaller guns extremely discreetly. Sam appeared pissed and Claire a little amused. As they walked, Dean filled them in on the kidnapping story from yesterday and the changeling he saw today and how both of those cases most likely corresponded with one another.

            Sam bitched about how they would get caught bringing in weapons, and Dean looked at Cas who informed both Sam and Claire he had mojo’d them so they would appear to be random objects to everyone’s eyes. Claire thought it was pretty badass, and she told him so. Cas smiled proudly. Sam was still iffy, but he wordlessly stuffed the knife in his back pocket.

            Dean was happy Cas’s grace was useful for something right now. He really wanted Cas to fly, but that wouldn’t happen for a while.

            They went through security easily and the lines for the park weren’t as long as yesterday, so they made it through swiftly.

            “Now,” Dean said, talking to Claire while Sam and Cas sped walked through Main Street, “changelings look like normal people to human eyes. The only way to find out if they are changelings is if we spot them through mirrors or reflections. Do you have anything that can help with that?”

            Claire looked at him with an ‘are you kidding me’ sort of look. She rifled through her purse and pulled out her makeup mirror.

            “Perfect,” Dean replied. She scowled and closed it, picking up the pace.

            “So,” Dean said, speeding to catch up with her. “Keep it out. Have fun, but keep an eye out. If you see it, tell Sam or me so we can deal with it. The gun is just a precaution.”

            “Aye aye captain,” Claire replied. “Sam!”

            Sam stopped and turned around, a smile on his face. Cas had one on his too, so Dean assumed they were telling funny stories to one another.

            “What’s up?” Sam asked as she and Dean caught up to the angel and hunter.

            “Are we gonna do that ride we were talking about?”

            Sam looked at Dean menacingly and smirked. “Sure.”

            Dean turned to Cas who simply shrugged, and then the four of them were heading past the Walt and Mickey statue to Fantasyland. Dean took in the scenery around him as they walked, marveling at the rides and castle as they got closer to it.

            Finally, they were weaving through a maze of bars and were in line for a ride that had little boats on it and a creepy clock with a face ticking back and forth. Dean stopped when he heard the singing, looked up while straining his ears more, and then turned to Sam clenching his jaw.

            “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Dean tried to worm his way past Sam to get out of line, but Sam’s bigger frame blocked him. Claire was smirking and Cas appeared to be confused.

            “You’re a dick,” Dean said, smile playing at his lips while Sam chuckled. “I told you if I ever heard this song ever again in my life time, I would pummel you to the ground!”

            Cas stepped up next to Sam. “What’s going on?” Dean turned to him.

            “Oh nothing,” Dean replied, “except for Sam here decided to bring me onto a ride that sings the absolute worst song I’ve ever heard in my life. More than a thousand times, I can assure you.”

            Cas still frowned and scrunched his eyebrows together so Dean elaborated.

            “When Sammy was like, what, eleven?” Dean turned to his brother.

            Sam’s laughter died down a little. “Twelve.”

            “When Sammy was twelve, he got a solo in the school program and he had to sing the _It’s a Small World_ song. For a solid three weeks, he would put the tape into the stereo and would sing the song over and over again. Being the nice brother I am, I let him. Then three weeks in I cracked and told Sam if I ever heard the song playing again, I would punch him in the face. I didn’t hear it again, and we were on the road again before Sammy could even have his solo at the school.”

            Sam had finally ceased chuckling and they were now closer to the front of the line. Cas was smiling and Claire was patting Sam on the back for his joke.

            “And now I’m hearing it,” Dean started, “and I’m really wanting to have my fist meet your face.”

            “No one’s holding you back,” Sam replied, smirking.

            “'Cept for children,” Dean commented. Sam grinned and then they were all getting into the tiny boats. Dean sat next to Sam and Claire and Cas sat behind them. Dean bitch faced at Sam as it wound its way around a corner and then drifted into a tunnel. That was when the singing grew louder…and was in a different language. Dean wanted to gauge his eardrums out already, and they’d been in the tunnel for thirty seconds.

            The beginning of the tunnel then morphed into a country with a bunch of dolls dancing and singing on top of scenery. Dean scrunched his hair in his hands and looked at Sam, who was smiling up at the dolls but could see Dean in his peripheral.

            “I literally hate you,” Dean said to Sam in his ear. Sam chuckled.

            Claire told Sam and Dean to turn around and she snapped a picture of them. Though Dean was pretty sure he wasn’t going to want to remember this ever.

            The ride was literally never ending. After the song was sung in one language, they would emerge into another world and it would be sung in that language and it continued. Dean could not take it anymore and he tried to sing Metallica under his breath, but the creepy dolls and the catchy loudness of the song broke through Enter Sandman and entered Dean’s ears anyway.

            The ride, surprisingly, did have an end. And as soon as they were docked, Dean was out of there and running down the tiny hill through the gift shop and as far away from that ride as he could get.

            Sam, Claire and Cas caught up to him after a minute and each of them, save for maybe Cas, was laughing their asses off. Cas was laughing but not as hard.

            “I get to choose the next ride and I don’t care if anyone disagrees with me,” Dean said, snatching the map from his brother’s hand.

            “Fair enough,” Sam said, smiling. Dean glared at him and then dropped his eyes to the map.

            “By the way,” Dean said, reminding himself of the mission. “Did you guys see any creepy changeling kids?”

            Each of them shook their heads.

            “Did any of you even look?” Dean asked.

            “Yeah,” Claire said, holding up her mirror. Sam showed Dean the black of his phone, which reflected around him. Dean turned to Cas.

            “Lucky for me, I have the power to see a face without a reflection,” Cas commented.

            “Well whoop dee doo for you,” Dean joked, smirking at Cas. The angel smiled back.

            “Okay. I want to ride…” Dean held the ‘d’ in 'ride' for an unnecessary amount of time. He pointed at a random ride and read what it was. “Splash Mountain.”

            Claire grinned from ear to ear. “Wow Dean, you’ve done something right for once.”

            She clapped his shoulder and started walking towards the direction of Frontierland.

            “Wasn’t it you who doesn’t like drops?” Sam questioned his brother.

            Dean shrugged. “They’re fine.” Sam smirked and followed Claire.

            Dean turned to Cas. “Wait, is this a drop ride?” His smile turned to a frown.

            Cas shrugged. “I know as much as you do, Dean. Come on.” Cas pulled on Dean’s shirt and then they were following Sam and Claire.

 

            Dean stared up at the logs dropping down a big hill. He could do drops. He didn’t mind drops. The only time he didn’t like them was when he didn’t know they were there. He knew this one was there and how far he would fall.

            He simply hated anticipation.

            Sam turned around and winked at Dean, and in turn Dean flipped him off.

            They all hopped in line around the fifteen-minute wait time (thank you, extra hour). Claire asked Sam to take a picture of her, Dean and Cas so she could send it to Jody and Donna. Dean was in the middle, so he wrapped both of his arms around Claire and Cas and then brought them in closer to his armpits. Claire smiled grudgingly up at him and Cas squinted his eyes and flashed his gums.

            The line moved quickly and while they inched along, Claire pretended to check her face in her mirror while Sam acted as though his phone needed more bars so as to check the children around him. Cas was squinting around him and Dean used a little pocket mirror he kept in Baby’s trunk (which he randomly decided to snatch up before she was driven away by a stranger).

            Dean ignored the judging faces around him, telling himself he was most likely saving their children.

            The coast was clear. Cas said the kids were all normal human beings. Dean slid his mirror in his back pocket and felt like he could relax.

            Five minutes later, they were all being seated in a giant, plastic log. Dean sat next to Claire in the very front of the ride while Sam and Cas took a seat behind them.

            Dean was going to get soaking wet.

            Claire took a selfie of all four of them, and then the ride was leisurely chugging up an incline. The ride turned and entered a tunnel, which led to another incline. Dean shook his head at all the steep tracks going upwards because it meant they would be coming down shortly. Little artifacts showed themselves on either side of the little canyon they had now entered…annnnd there was the drop that would shortly arrive. Dean shook his head at it and Claire nudged him. They dropped down a tiny hill that let a spurt of adrenaline into Dean, and then they were entering a dark tunnel filled with singing animals. The ride zigzagged on the tracks through the animals on each side of the ride. Suddenly the scenes got darker; bees floated around bees nests (and Dean wanted to turn around to remind Cas of his intrigue on bees, but he didn’t). The ride was now darker but still animals sang, and Dean was getting pissed because he kept jumping when he thought the drop would appear. Like he said, anticipation was the worst part about it. Finally, _finally,_ they were chugging up a hill, and Dean knew the drop was on the other side. His heart raced, knowing he had mere seconds before he would be whisked at great speeds down a massive hill. Then they were at the tip of the drop, and not a second later, Dean was whooping as the log fell down the hill.

            Turned out, according to Claire, the drop was only fifty feet long. Dean felt like an idiot. But he did have fun, contrary to his previous thoughts.

            They looked for their picture after the ride and each of them bought one. It was a fantastic shot. Claire was giving a ‘rock on’ sign, her yellow hair whipping out behind her. Dean’s mouth was in a perfect ‘o’ and his green eyes were wider than even he’d seen before. Sam was behind Claire, and his hair was sticking up like an octopus. He was smiling and had his hands up (which covered the guy behind them. Oops.). Cas was death gripping the bar in front of him and his eyes were wide; his face was one of shock.

            Claire took a picture of the picture to send to Jody and Donna, and then they were stalking off towards the walkway.

            Dean took out his mirror and looked around while Claire, Sam and Cas picked another ride.

            “Let’s do Big Thunder Mountain,” Claire said. “It’s right there anyway.”

            She pointed to the train-shaped roller coaster and Dean smiled. That looked like fun.

            They all sped walked over, managing to dodge tourists with strollers and death glares. The line was only a half hour wait and Dean wasn’t going to say no to that. Especially since the parks were now open to everyone.

            Once again, they all looked around them for any sign of a monster. Cas did a once over and didn't spot anything. Like last time, kids were normal and the older parents had no sign of ‘mother changeling’ attached to them.

            So, for the next fifteen minutes, they all got to converse in line.

            “Are we going to go to California Adventures one of these times?” Claire questioned Sam, as if he were the ringleader of the vacation. Which was okay, because Dean sure as hell had no idea what he was doing.

            Sam nodded. “Yeah, we can. I actually want to do the new Cars ride. It’s my favorite Pixar movie.”

            Dean rolled his eyes. He’d seen the movie as well, and though he liked the aspect of cars having a personality, he didn’t like any of the characters at all. Save for Mater, he supposed.

            “Sweet,” Claire said. “I want to do the big ass Mickey roller coaster.”

            Dean knew already he was skipping that one if ‘big ass’ explained it.

            Next thing they knew, they were all hopping on the train. Cas and Dean sat next to each other while Claire and Sam sat in front of them in their own seat.

            The ride jolted to a start and then they were off. It wasn’t an extremely fast roller coaster per se, but it was speedy enough. It was also fun because the drops were small, if any, and it wound around the mountain and went inside of it. Dean kept his arms in the air the entire time, and he could hear Cas hollering next to him even though his hands stayed on the bar in front.

            The ride came to a halt after two minutes or so, and they all hopped off of it with smiles.

            “That was super fun,” Claire commented, combing her hair with her fingers to get it back down again. Sam simply ran a hand through his.

            “It really was,” the younger Winchester agreed.

            Dean smirked at Cas and the angel nodded in agreement.

 

            The next couple of rides they had no such luck with the monsters. They went to Tom Sawyer’s island and even hopped on the massive riverboat with hundreds of people, and still they were just people. Dean was starting to wonder if he’d just seen things this morning (it _was_ only five in the morning), but he was never one for imagining things unless he was drugged up on something.

            No, he wasn’t imagining anything. They hadn’t gotten lucky yet was all.

            After the boat, they had lunch at an outdoor restaurant that served all kinds of food. Dean, Cas and Claire ordered a corndog and fries while Sam had a Mickey Mouse shaped pretzel.

            After lunch and chugging a whole bunch of water, they made their way back to Fantasyland. If there was any place they would find a monster, it would be here.

            Dean looked at his watch. It was already two in the afternoon and he was growing tired. He blamed it on the sun, which was more than he’d gotten in a while. He was a night owl and a couch potato.

            Claire and Sam came up with the idea to split up. She wanted to go with Sam. For whatever reason, Claire had grown close to the younger Winchester during this time. Dean figured it was because they had close to the same personalities (save for the aggressiveness Claire had). Sam also felt like a brother. Dean was more of, as Claire put it, a ‘lame dad’ kind of guy, and she was looking for someone who was more her speed. Someone who could understand her. Sam was more that person. As for Cas, she still had a hard time seeing her dad and not having him. Dean could understand that, but he was happy she liked Cas for the most part. But Sam…he was the easiest for her to get along with, and he could see how.

            Claire and Sam waved to Dean and Cas and set off for the Alice in Wonderland ride.

            Dean turned to Cas. “What’s say we check out Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride? Now that’s a Disney movie I’ve seen.”

            Cas nodded and followed Dean to the line. It was fairly long, but because the seats presented themselves quickly, the line moved forward at a fast pace.

            Mr. Toad went to Hell in the movie, from what Dean could remember. He sure wished Hell was what Mr. Toad experienced. He could have handled that.

            Then again, Cas wouldn’t have come to save him if it was something he could handle. And Cas saving him was honestly a blessing in disguise.

            Dean took out his mirror and surveyed the area around them while Cas took a look deeper into the line, straining his eyes to do so.

            Five minutes later, Cas had inspected every person and none of them were monsters. Dean cursed under his breath. It wasn’t like he wanted a kid to be a monster, he just wanted to find the changeling, kill it, and continue enjoying his vacation.

            Speaking of. “How are you doing, Cas?

            “I’m fine,” Cas replied honestly.

            Dean rolled his eyes. “I mean, are you having fun?”

            Cas nodded. “Very much so. I have enjoyed every aspect of this trip. I will be sad to see it end.”

            Dean clapped him on the back. “That just means we’ll have to have more then, huh?”

            The angel nodded and moved forward in line. Soon it was their turn to get into the little car. They pulled the lap bar down, and then the car was speeding forward and whiplashing Dean and Cas as it went back and forth while scenes appeared in front of them.

            The ride ended quicker than it started, but Dean had fun. The short, simple rides were enjoyable, especially since they were made in Disney’s time and they weren’t the amped up rides that had lines backed up for two hours.

            “Okay,” Dean said as they popped back out into the park. “Unsuccessful there. Which one do you want to do next?”

            Cas looked around and pointed at Pinocchio’s Daring Journey. Dean smiled and pressed a hand into Cas’s lower back to urge him to head that way. They hopped in line and once again looked at reflections but found nothing. Dean sighed and hopped into a cart.

            It flew by like Mr. Toad’s ride, but this one told the story of Pinocchio and Geppedo. Dean had seen this movie years and years ago and couldn’t remember it, so he was glad for the refresher. Cas obviously knew every detail about it, but he seemed to enjoy the ride, too.

            Just like the previous ride it was short and sweet and they exited with a smile on their face.

            “Dean,” Cas said.

            “Yeah buddy?”

            “I think I’d like to take a nap,” Cas informed him. Dean sighed.

            “Amen, pal. I’m tired, too.”

            Dean called Sam to tell him they were going to sleep and made him and Claire keep looking. He also told them to maybe head to California Adventures if they could to check around there, and Sam promised he would.

            Dean hung up the phone right as they reached Main Street. They walked along the cobblestone and dodged some Chimney Sweeps putting on a performance, and then they were back to the entrance and exiting into Downtown Disney.

            Dean picked up some pretzels and cheese for when they woke up so they could eat it in the hotel room, and then he and Cas took the elevator up to their room. Dean set the pretzels on the TV stand and he kicked off his shoes and jumped into bed. He let out a long groan and felt his muscles contract.

            “Ahhhhh. Cas good call. This feels fantastic.” Dean closed his eyes and leaned into his pillows. Cas lay back in his own bed and pulled the covers up over his legs.

            “Should I set my alarm?” Cas questioned the older Winchester. Dean nodded and yawned.

            “Probably. Set it for six, maybe?”

            Cas nodded and fiddled with his phone and then he eased into his bed and let out a deep breath.

            “Catch ya on the flippety flop,” Dean mumbled and Cas huffed a laugh. Another couple of minutes and Dean was sound asleep, snoring up a storm equally as loud as Cas’s.

 

            Cas’s alarm (which was ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna) went off at six and Dean opened his eyes. He felt well rested, but his body wanted him to stay under the covers and flopped on the mattress. Cas opened one eye and fumbled with his phone to turn it off. Dean huffed a laugh and closed his eyes again.

            “Stupid phone.” Cas finally figured out how to turn it off and he relaxed back into the pillows. “Do we have to get up?”

            Dean’s voice came out weird since the left side of his mouth was squished against the pillow when he replied, “Probably should.”

            Cas groaned and Dean’s tummy oddly fluttered at the sound. He tried to ignore it as he sat up in bed and brought his feet to the floor.

            “You want a pretzel?”

            Cas nodded so Dean slowly pressed himself off of the bed and strode over to the TV stand to pick them up. They were cold and hard now, but they were still good enough to eat. He handed Cas one and the angel sat up in the bed to eat it. His eyes seemed droopy still, but he slowly opened them as he continued to eat his salted, cheddar cheese dipped pretzel.

            “This hits the spot,” Dean said around a bunch of food. Cas nodded.

            Dean took out his phone to text Sam, asking where he was.

            _Went to California Adventures. Still no sign of any intelligent life anywhere. J_ _K haven’t found anything. Claire and I went on Mickey roller coaster. Fuck’n awesome. Gonna do Cars next. Text when u wanna meet at castle._

Dean rolled his eyes. He was happy his brother was having some fun, but he hadn’t seen him this childish since…well, since he was five or so.

            “So Sam and Claire are in California Adventures. You wanna head back to Fantasyland to keep checking it out. Maybe go on a couple of rides?”

            Cas nodded since he was still chewing. Dean waited for him to finish eating and then they headed back out into the heart of the child in everyone.

 

            “So we have a couple of hours until fireworks. You want to go on Space Mountain again and I wouldn’t mind going on Star Wars for a second round, so let’s do those before fireworks. Save ourselves enough time.” Dean was planning a schedule from now until fireworks and Cas went along with it. He followed in Dean’s wake while the Winchester continued talking about stuff Cas didn’t care about. He was just along for the ride.

            “Okay, maybe we should do those rides first actually. Since they’re popular.”

            “That’s fine,” Cas said.

            “Alright. Let’s do Star Tours since it’s right there and then we’ll do Space Mountain right after.”

            “Sure,” Cas replied.

            They hopped in line for Star Tours and waited close to forty minutes to get on, but once again, Dean was stunned at the visual effects, 3D and the mechanics of the ride. He reveled in the amazing works and continued to marvel as they exited the ride. Cas was happy to be going to Space Mountain next.

            This ride had an hour wait time, but Dean assured Cas it was fine because they had time to spare. Dean took out his mirror and Cas once-overed the place. Yet again, they had squat.

            By time they reached the front of the ride, they only had an hour left before fireworks. That was okay with Dean.

            They jumped into the seats and saddled up for the ride. Cas grinned, waiting to feel the wind on his face and to see the stars.

            The ride zipped off and Dean once again had a laugh and smiled his way through the maze. Cas looked up at the stars in wonder and squeezed Dean’s forearm in happiness. Dean thought the presence of Cas’s gentle yet firm hand was comforting. He also liked the way Cas held him as if he was pleased Dean could enjoy the flight experience with him.

            The ride came to a halt and they were ushered out of the seats. Dean watched Cas as they exited the ride. He had a grin on his face, but Dean could tell he was somber behind his eyes. He placed a hand on Cas’s forearm, just as the angel had done to him moments ago. He squeezed and Cas looked at him with gentle eyes.

            “Let’s do something calm now,” Dean said. The angel nodded.

            They headed back over to Fantasyland side-by-side. Dean had his mirror out and he checked every kid and mother that walked by. Cas, too, was looking, but they didn’t spot anything.

            “I give up. This is getting ridiculous.” Dean shoved the mirror in his back pocket and grit his teeth when it scratched against his butt.

            Cas’s eyes found Dean’s as they walked. “Don’t give up, Dean. I believe you. Thousands of people come to Disneyland every day, and the mother only makes so many children. Patience.” Cas placed a hand on Dean’s arm when the Winchester went to reach for his mirror again. “However, I will keep watch for now. You can rest.”

            Dean nodded and thanked him and Cas smiled in return.

            “Carousel?” Dean questioned Cas when they finally reached Fantasyland. “That’s pretty simple.”

            Cas nodded. “King Arthur’s Carousel. I’m sure King Arthur would not have like to have been depicted in such a way, but he’d be happy to know kids enjoyed his ride and learned his name.”

            Dean stopped. “King Arthur was real?”

            Cas opened his mouth to speak but Dean held up his hand.

            “Never mind. Don’t tell me.”

            Cas smiled and they stepped in line. They only waited for five minutes before being let on to the ride. Dean followed Cas, who was specifically picking out his horse for whatever reason. They all looked the same to Dean.

            Finally, Cas picked one out on the other side. Dean chose the one next to him, which sat in the middle.

            God, Dean hadn’t been on one of these things in years. Hell, he hadn’t been on a horse in years.

            The ride lurched before officially starting, and then they were whizzing round and round actually very slowly. Dean let go of his golden bar and looked around at the warm, yellow lights that looked favorable against the black sky.

            Cas looked amazing in the lighting, too. The golden rays hit his face at the right angle and his eyes danced with the changing of external lights. His hair blew back from his forehead and his pink lips pointed and ended with a dimple.

            He appeared to be staring at the lights and horses in wonder. And that look was absolutely beautiful on him. Dean couldn’t help the thundering pulse and beating heart in his chest. He wanted to reach out to Cas, to take his hand. To tell him how amazing he looked, how amazing he was.

            He averted his eyes to the left. It was hard keeping his feelings down when they were in the real world, fighting monsters and saving people. Here, though, here was worse. Here he wasn’t thinking of all the bad things in his life. He wasn’t surfacing the horrendous things that could happen if him and Cas got together. He was open minded and careless and he lost track of the real world.

            Dean looked up into the mirror placed on the inside of the carousel. He stared at himself. His face and ears were red, pupils dilated. He felt sweaty all of a sudden, and it wasn’t just the humidity and lights.

            Something in his peripheral caught his eye, so he looked left in the mirror.

            “Fuck,” Dean said. He turned to Cas. “Dude, look.”

            Dean motioned Cas to look into the mirror with his head. Cas squinted his eyes and saw the little kid behind them. He was normal, save for the two black holes for eyes and mouth full of teeth.

            “I wasn’t going crazy,” Dean said, whispering to Cas.

            “What do we do?” Cas questioned him. The ride was coming to a stop now, and Dean hadn’t even thought that far ahead.

            “Try to catch him?” Dean asked.

            “Won’t that make us look like kidnappers?”

            Dean looked up. He hadn’t thought of that.

            “Can you stun him or angel mojo him in any way?”

            Cas shook his head sadly. “I’m not strong enough for that just yet. I can only heal small wounds and manipulate objects and see people in their true forms.”

            Dean cursed. “I don’t know. I think grabbing him is the only choice we have.”

            Cas looked agitated by that, but Dean couldn’t think of anything else. When the ride stopped, Dean followed the boy who picked up the pace and decided to run.

            Dean began to run after him, leaving Cas in his dust. He sure hoped people would think the boy was his kid or something. He didn’t need the publicity again.

            The boy ran towards Peter Pan’s Flight and vanished behind it. Dean followed him behind the ride and there was nothing back there. There was no place the kid could escape, and yet he was gone.

            “Fuck!” Dean exclaimed. He marched forward and looked up, searched left and right and still there was no sign of him. By this time, Cas had caught up. Dean searched frantically, annoyed at how easily the boy slipped from view. Dean literally had him. He was right there and now he was gone. He punched the large fence.

            “Dammit!”

            “Dean,” Cas said, his voice almost cooing. “Calm down. It’s alright.”

            Cas took a step forward and Dean shook his head.

            “We almost had him, Cas. He was in our grasp.” Dean balled his fists.

            Cas took one step closer to him and placed both of his gentle hands on either of Dean’s shoulders. He caught his eyes and spoke clearly.

            “We will find the mother, Dean. With patience and time, we will find it. It isn’t your fault.”

            Dean clenched his jaw. It kind of was his fault.

            “Dean, look at me.”

            Dean’s eyes met Cas’s bottomless blue ones.

            “It’s not your fault. Understood.”

            Dean let out a deep breath and nodded.

            “Good. Let’s go watch fireworks.”

            Dean nodded and let Cas pull him out from behind the ride. Cas dragged him by the arm for a little while before letting him go. Dean followed the angel to the castle, and they found an empty spot near the Walt Disney statue. Cas called Sam since Dean was still coming down from his fuming state.

            Five minutes later, Claire and Sam were by their sides. Cas brought them up to speed on what had happened and Sam, too, made it clear it wasn’t Dean’s fault. Dean forced a smile and looked up at the glowing castle.

 

            The firework show was the same as last night, but it was just as fun. The parade still wasn’t as intriguing to Dean, but he nonetheless watched and sang along with it, even if under his breath.

            Dean decided to watch Cas taking in the firework show tonight. He needed some sort of Valium ex-nay the drug, and Cas would do the trick. A lot of times, Dean was pissed off at Cas for whatever reason. Cas did this, Cas did that, Cas should have done this. He was actually super mean to Cas at times. Cas made him angry a lot of the time, but he was also his pain relief. His comic relief. His relaxant.

            Seeing Cas after being away from him for days to weeks on end was always a refresher.

            This time, the colors that blew up in the air colored Cas’s face even more so than from the patio outside their room. The greens exploded and turned his skin a pale forest color. The whites in his eyes reflected the explosion. He wore that same grin from the carousel, but now he was closer. Blues erupted in the air and added to the cerulean blue of his own eyes.

            The scenes played on the castle. Circle of Life rang out through speakers everywhere. The song gave Dean chills. And yet all he could really see or pay attention to was the angel.

            He wasn’t denying anything. His feelings were _just_ below the surface. He was aware of them. Apparently Claire and Sam were, too. He wanted Cas. He found Cas attractive. He admired Cas’s personality. He wished he were as strong and as brave as Cas. He wanted Cas to know this.

            And yet, he couldn’t bring himself to do it because he was a coward when it came to feelings. He was afraid of the repercussions, afraid of rejection and afraid of losing someone he wanted to be with…well, in the long run.

            He also didn’t want to force Cas into a life he may not want to be in anymore. He wanted Cas to be free, to experience things he hadn’t before, to enjoy life.

            He didn’t want to be the hook in him that prevented him from doing those things.

            He was afraid.

            Cas turned and looked straight at Dean. The firework show was over; the beams were in the sky. The music had settled down to a quiet song. Now brilliant blue eyes were staring into his and he was caught. He’d let his guard down and Cas had caught him.

            Dean blinked once and stood up. “Sammy, how were those rides? Tell me about them.”

            People hastily attempted to press past people to leave or to make for the rides. Dean, Sam, Claire and Cas waited for the mess of people to disperse.

            Sam went into a frenzy explaining what he and Claire did over in California Adventures. Dean wasn’t paying attention at all, though. It was his excuse to get out of that uncomfortable eye contact with Cas. Claire was now talking to him about something, but Cas’s eyes still glanced upon Dean on occasion, and Dean caught it each time.

            “So are we doing rides after, or are we all calling it quits?”

            Cas looked up at Dean, connecting their eyes since they met vulnerably not five minutes ago.

            “I wouldn’t mind going on rides. Dean, perhaps you would like to join me?” Cas offered.

            Dean swallowed hard. “Yeah, definitely.” He tried for confidence and was left with a shake in his throat.

            “We could look for the changelings for a couple of hours as we ride. Maybe we should split up again,” Cas said, staring hard at Claire.

            “Sam, sound good to you?” Claire met Sam’s eyes and averted them to Dean quickly and then rested them on the younger Winchester again.

            “Yeah. Let’s do it.” Sam glanced at Cas, clearing his throat. “Uh, Claire. Why don’t we go to Adventureland?”

            Claire nodded. “Alright. See you two back at the hotel. Have a good night!”

            Sam and Claire pressed through people as they made their way to the train depot. Cas was still sitting on the round bench and Dean stood near it. He cleared his throat.

            “Where to, Cas?”

            “Fantasyland again, perhaps?” Cas offered. Dean nodded.

 

            As they made their way to Fantasyland, Dean felt a vibrating in his pocket. He reached in and pulled out his phone. The message was from Claire and he could tell it was a picture, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

            He swiped right and the picture showed up in a thought bubble. He deadpanned and touched it, blowing it up.

            The picture was a silhouette of Dean and Cas yesterday at the castle. Dean had pressed past Claire, leaving her as the fourth wheel behind the men. She must have snapped the picture then. The castle was a bluish purple color, and Dean and Cas were shoulder to shoulder, black figures on the screen.

            The caption under the thought bubble was: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

            Dean shook his head, blacked out the screen and shoved it in his pocket.

            Some very inspiring Disney quote wasn’t going to persuade him into telling Cas.

            Besides, it wasn’t her business anyway.

            Even if she did have a point.

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving...have some smut. :)

"You mean more to me than anything in this whole world!" - Peter Pan, Peter Pan

* * *

 

 

Dean followed Cas into Fantasyland. The pitch-dark sky was the perfect backdrop to the multi-colored lights coming from the rides. The carousel shined a brilliant yellow and the teacups dazzled in blues and pinks. Dean felt more comfortable in the night setting. There weren’t as many kids with annoyed parents and the lines were shorter. Also, he just felt calm during a still night.

            Cas didn’t say a word as they maneuvered around random rides. Dean didn’t know which ride Cas wanted to go on, but he obviously had one in mind. They wound their way to Storybrook. It was a simple boat ride that told the stories of different Disney movies, and it was extremely bland for Dean’s taste, but Cas seemed to have enjoyed himself. Dean wouldn’t know. Though Cas shot Dean pleased glances, he hadn’t said one word since the fireworks ended. That really peeved Dean, because he’d obviously seen a look he wasn’t meant to see, and he wasn’t commenting on it at all. Dean would rather have him questioning left and right rather than sitting in silence.

            Alas, Dean couldn’t get what he wanted and when the ride ended, they both jumped off of the boat and Cas was off again. Dean had no other choice than to follow, but he kind of wanted to get all up into Cas’s business and tell him to speak.

            He didn’t. He basically stared at the back of Cas’s neck as they walked.

            The ride Cas chose was the teacups. Claire said she and Sam had a lot of fun on them, and all day Dean had been ready to ride them. But if Cas was going to be in this silence, he was panning on the ride not being as thrilling.

            They stepped in line with a ten-minute wait. A bunch of little kids and teenagers waited ahead of them, mixed with some adults. The kids were growing tired but parents wanted to stay up until close. It wasn’t fair to them, Dean thought, but he wasn’t a parent so what the hell did he know?

            He thought about the changelings and wondered if he should check again. Cas told him to hang up the keys a couple of hours ago, but maybe Cas wasn’t looking now. Then again, he wouldn’t know, _would he?_

            He leaned against the bars caging them in and stared into the sky. He couldn’t see any stars because of the luminescence of Fantasyland and the beams from the castle, but it was cool to stare into nothingness. Darkness. But to know it was that good kind of darkness- the vast, never-ending nothingness unfathomable to tiny specks on a miniscule planet.

            “Dean,” Cas said, bringing Dean out of his reverie. Dean turned and noticed Cas motioning him forward with a hand. The line was moving and stopped them right at the front.

            Dean watched as the people settled into their cups and grasped the colorful wheel in front of them. The little lanterns of multitudes of color rained down on them and colored their grinning faces.

            “Dean,” Cas started as the ride jolted to life. Dean turned to the angel, eyes intent.

            “Yeah?” Dean asked.

            “Do you remember last night when I said the magic of this place was getting to me?” Cas had his chin in his hand, his elbow resting on the bars in front of him.

            “Yeah,” Dean replied.

            “I meant it in a different way than you thought. I wasn’t going to mention it any further, but I saw a sign that probably meant I should.” Cas’s blue eyes fell on Dean’s green ones now, and the hunter’s heart was beating fast. It was one of those moments he could just tell what was about to happen. His life was going to change. He was anticipating it and his mind wasn’t thinking- wasn’t figuring out how to reply before anything was even said. He went numb and his pulse raced.

            “Um…what is it?” Dean faltered.

            The ride came to a stop and the kids hopped off squealing with red cheeks from wind. The gate opened and Dean was really angry that the ride decided to bring their conversation to a brief interlude. Dean stepped onto the platform and stalked over to the nearest teacup- a lavender color underneath a bright blue lantern.

            He closed the door after Cas stepped on and waited for the angel to continue. Cas figured he would take his own damned leisurely time staring up at the lights and taking in the ambiance before continuing their hair-raising conversation.

            Dean bit at his cheek, a nervous habit. He watched Cas wrap up his moment and bring his eyes back down to him. He had a side smile, gazing at Dean with such endearment. Dean shivered.

            “Earlier on tonight, during the fireworks, I found myself thinking about magic and happy endings, and I realized it was a reoccurring theme in the films and stories. I always thought my life was going to end up nowhere and that I’d be worn down until death, but that never seemed to happen. I always ended up back where I always yearned to be. With you and Sam,” Cas informed Dean. Dean set his hands on the wheel in front of him, giving them something to do. Cas copied him monotonously.

            “However, though I am happy, I realized I didn’t have happy ending.” Cas broke eye contact for a moment and suddenly froze up, as if he were becoming nervous. He looked down at his hands. “I am suddenly aware of how ludicrous this sounds.”

            “No, keep going,” Dean said, his voice shaking.

            Cas met his eyes again and took a deep breath. “I saw the way you looked at me tonight and figured I should take a chance in informing you about my feelings, which I have finally learned to accept and give into.”

            Dean blinked. It was happening.

            “I guess I should come right out and say it then,” Cas muttered, gravelly voice unsure. “I l-“

            The ride stalled before coming to life, and next thing they new, their cup was spinning under yellows, red, greens and blues. Dean started laughing as they whizzed by people watching outside the gates and he stared at Cas’s brilliant blue eyes that reflected the lantern’s colors.

            “Dean!” Cas yelled, and it reminded Dean of the frantic scream from Purgatory, but this one was lighthearted and Cas had a toothy grin on his face as his hair stuck up in all places just like the day they’d first met. “I’m in love with you!”

            Dean couldn’t help the spreading of a smile across his face. Cas watched him, both worried and relieved at the outcome. Dean was smiling with his teeth, his eyes squinted in the corners. He started to spin the wheel and Cas joined in. Dean looked straight up at him as they leaned in and spun.

            “I do too, Cas. Love you, I mean,” he faltered in a voice a tad bit higher than his normal octave. He was shaking all over, pent up adrenaline from his confession seeping out of his body now that it finally happened. Cas took that as a final word on the matter and he began spinning their teacup faster than those next to them, without the aid of Dean. The Winchester watched him with a rapidly beating heart and a smile in his eyes. He tried to memorize the reflection of blue light on Cas’s blue eyes and the way the screams of children resounded about the ride. He tried to remember the musky pavement smell around them and the look on Cas’s face, the yellow light hitting his barely there 5 o’clock shadow just right. He remembered the ‘Unbirthday’ song playing in the background and the ugly purple of the teacup they were sitting in. He took it all in.

            The ride slowly swirled to a stop and Dean opened the door so he and Cas could exit. They followed the squealing children to the gate and entered the park again.

            Cas was laughing and Dean watched him as he breathed with hands on his knees- a very human-like gesture on the healing angel. His hair was in extreme disarray.

            Cas looked up at Dean through his eyelashes and then stood up again. He held out his hand.

            “I feel like flying,” Cas told him. Dean didn’t ask what he meant, but he sure did think his hand looked inviting. He took it in his own and together they walked hand in hand to Peter Pan’s Flight without the awkwardness ensuing and without questions asked. Dean fell into the shift in their atmosphere perfectly, and he felt as though he’d been doing it for years. There was a lot of unmasked worry pent up in Dean’s head about this and the future of _this,_ but it could wait for now. Because Cas’s hand was perfectly clasped in his and his tummy was warm, and this was without the whiskey he’d grown so accustomed to. Now wasn’t the time. He’d ask questions later.

            They hopped in line, perhaps receiving a few odd glances from strangers due to their hand holding, but they ignored it. Dean felt as though he was on a cloud. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt as free as this moment right now. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed as hard as he had on the ride, though the last time was probably due to Cas, too. He simply could not remember being generally happy and worry-free. He missed this feeling and he wasn’t going to shake it off now, even if they were shot an occassional disapproving glances.

            Dean squeezed Cas’s hand tighter and looked at him with the smile that was beginning to hurt. He couldn’t help it. Cas grinned back, his eyes smiling as well. He leaned in closer to Dean so as to share body heat. Dean figured now would be a good time to talk. They had a fifteen-minute wait, Dean was off duty for changelings, and he wanted Cas to talk again.

            “So,” Dean said, not realizing how shaky he still was. He cleared his throat. “When…uh, when did you find out you liked me?”

            Cas didn’t bat an eye. “Hell.”

            Dean was actually shocked at that. They hadn’t even met yet. Dean hadn’t been put back together and Cas had watched him torture and kill people down there, and still that was the point in time he decided he liked Dean.

            “Was it from my soul?” Dean questioned the angel. He figured that was it. Cas had told him his soul was beautiful and damaged.

            “Yes. I could see everything about you and everything you were and how you were shaped into the man you have become. I liked that man.” Cas looked down at his shoes. “This is why I struggle when you become someone else.”

            Even though he’d muttered, Dean had heard what he said. “When have I become someone else?”

            Cas looked up at him. “Not directly become someone else. When your personality changes. When you aren’t Dean Winchester who likes sex, alcohol and rock and roll.”

            Dean understood. He wasn’t mad. He knew when he’d altered his personality or had become somebody else unintentionally. He was stubborn and didn’t like to be righted by others. He had to determine that for himself.

            “Sorry about that,” Dean apologized. “I know it happens.”

            Cas smiled. “It’s okay. I do it as well. It is a flaw we both have that we should perhaps work on.”

            Dean nodded. “That sounds good to me.”

            Cas stepped forward and pulled Dean along with his hand. “What about you?”

            “What about me?”

            “When did you realize you liked me?” Cas looked like a cat. He had a curious face on him and his brows were furrowed.

            Dean smiled and hummed. “Mmm. Let me think. Gotta admit it, man. It wasn’t love at first sight. You made Bobby go unconscious. And then you were a dick with wings for a little while. I think the moment when I began respecting you was when you helped me that first year we met. You didn’t tell me how I could stop Sam from luring in Lilith, but you secretly told me how an archangel could annihilate any threat that came near Chuck. So that was what got the ball rolling.”

Dean stepped forward again as the line continued moving. Cas still had his eyes on him, content.

“The first time I started realizing you were a good friend…when you came looking for me. You needed help stopping Raphael and we spent those two days together. You were a dork. Your true colors were flying. And that brothel, man. God, that was good stuff.”

Cas rolled his eyes at the memory.

“The first time I started to like you…probably when you helped during the showdown with the devil. You exploded, and though basically everyone died that day, it was a different feeling with you. With Bobby, it felt like I lost my father. It stung and I remember wondering what was going to happen without him. He was who I looked up to and went to for help. Sam was worse. His was my other half dying. I can’t even think about that one. But with you…it was so fast and unexpected. Your death kind of, I don’t know, made me feel empty. It felt like I’d lost my best friend who I wanted to see as more than just a friend, and that kind of pain hurts. When you came back…God, the relief.”

Cas squeezed Dean’s hand. “I started to l-love you,” Dean started, “when you came back after my Lisa and Ben days. Sam didn’t have his soul then, but I loved to see you. Obviously, things went to shit after that, but uh…when you died that second time…that was worse. That one was bad. I felt empty then.”

Cas smiled. “So in Purgatory, you liked me?”

“I thought it was obvious then,” Dean said. “That killed me, too. You know what,” Dean said, letting go of Cas’s hand and turning abruptly. Cas’s smile faltered. “Promise me now that you aren’t gonna pull that shit again. I can’t lose you again. So if we end up on freaking Mars or something, you’re not gonna feel lesser and stay there, got it?”

Cas nodded wildly. “I promise, Dean.”

“Good.”

“But if I can’t do that, you can’t leave me either. Even if you feel like you’re not worth it and your life is the one to be sacrificed for anything. It’s not going to be you. Promise?”       

Dean sighed. “Yeah. Yeah Cas, promise.”

“It’s a deal.”

Dean and Cas faced forward again. They only had a couple of minutes until they would be boarded. Cas clasped their hands again and watched people get into the tiny ships with grins and cameras.

“Do you know how to cook a turkey?” Cas questioned Dean randomly.

Dean turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “Yes?”

“Do you think we could have Thanksgiving at the bunker? Perhaps we could invite Sheriff Donna and Jody, Alex and Claire.”

Dean smiled at Cas and leaned in closer. “Of course, Cas. Thanksgiving is the best time of the year, anyway. It’s an excuse to eat all the pie you want.”

Cas huffed a laugh. “Of course.”

Dean nudged him, and a minute later they were hopping onto a ship.

 

 

            The ship jolted upwards and then entered a dark tunnel. This was what really got a kick out of Dean. They’d only been on the ride for about forty seconds. They were making their way above London surrounded by stars. Cas was commenting about the realism they’d captured of London from the sky, and then the car clinked twice and stopped. The people on the ride picked up the noise, wondering what was going on and looking around them. Dean simply laughed.

            “Oh man. Technical difficulties. I guess this ride _was_ built in the fifties.” He leaned back with an amused grin on his face. Cas leaned forward with his chin in his hands, staring up at the stars. Though it was dark, he could roughly see Cas with the light coming off of London.

            “Do you like London?” Dean asked Cas. He’d never been, didn’t really interest him, but he was intrigued in Cas’s opinion.

            “I personally enjoy it. It has much to offer. I do resent the smell, though. Absolutely horrendous.”

            Dean chuckled. “Where’s your favorite place?”

            “Anywhere on Earth, really. I enjoy traveling to new places with you and Sam. It really is the people who make the place.”

            Dean pursed his lips and nodded. Cas had a point there.

            “Dean?”

            “Yeah?” Dean turned to Cas, only really seeing his outline, a glimmer in his eye, and the light reflecting off of his t-shirt.

            “I don’t really know how to ask this. I’ve never been, well, in love with someone before.” Dean blushed at the newfound word and Cas continued. “Are we…together, then?”

            Dean smiled. “Do you want to be?”

            Dean couldn’t see Cas’s face, but he sure did like the response. “I would if you are okay with it.”

            Dean scooted closer to Cas on the seat. “Of course, you asshat.”

            "Assbutt," Cas corrected.

            The hunter was honestly surprised at what happened next. He couldn’t see Cas, save for the minor bits of light coming off of him, so he wasn’t prepared for the angel leaning into him and placing his lips over his. They were surprisingly soft and warm. It was a little scratchy because of his lack of motivation to shave cleanly, but Dean liked it a lot. He brought his hand up to Cas’s cheek, pinning his ear in the space between his thumb and pointer finger. He closed his eyes as he deepened the kiss, pressing his tongue into Cas’s mouth. Cas invited him in, moaning a little bit. Dean smirked and grazed his teeth against Cas’s bottom lip.

            Cas brought his hand up to Dean’s left shoulder and pressed firmly. Though the mark he’d left there was gone, Dean could still feel the ghost of its presence. Cas reaffirmed the feel of it and he shivered.

            Dean pulled away from the angel, the hint of mint taste in his mouth. Dean’s stomach erupted in butterflies and heat made its way from his mouth to his rapidly beating heart and down to his stomach.

            Cas’s eyes reflected the lights of London and twinkled. Dean could barely see a smirk flit across his face.

            “So, that was…”

            “Nice,” Cas said. He let his hand drop from Dean’s shoulder.

            “Very,” Dean agreed.

            They stared at each other for a moment, and as if they were in a movie, both leaned in at the same time to kiss each other once again. This time Cas took control. Though he made the kiss passionate and careful and loving, he moaned in need and hunger. He had his hands balled into the front of Dean’s t-shirt, twisting it so as to bring Dean as close as he could get. It was a little uncomfortable since they had to keep their legs straight forward, but there was something better to attend to than lower back pain.

            Dean ran a hand through Cas’s hair, which he’d been dying to do since…well, for a long time. He scrunched his hand in it, hearing the obscene noises their mouths were making while the conversations around them blended into white noise. He opened his eyes, brushing his eyelashes against Cas’s closed ones.

            Cas set his hand on Dean’s thigh, an innocent gesture, but it did not do anything but torture Dean. He moaned into Cas’s mouth, his cheeks and ears heating up as Cas’s hand slid up a bit. Dean didn’t want to make this about sex at all (unless Cas wanted to), but Cas was making it a bit hard for him to concentrate.

            Dean had an aha! moment and placed his hand over Cas’s, and then intertwined them, pulling them up to his heart.

            Cas pulled away from Dean, but he kept their foreheads touching.

            “Dean?”

            “Yeah?” Dean asked, his voice almost gone.

            “I think when this ride ends,” Cas let go of Dean’s hand and set it on his thigh again, “I want to go back to the hotel.”

            Dean widened his eyes, which were completely lust blown. He looked down at the outline of a hand on his thigh. So maybe it was intentional. That sly son of a bitch.

            “Ditto,” Dean said. He was about to kiss Cas again, but the machinery kicked in again, the ships clicked, and then they were off to Neverland. Hey, speaking of.

            “You just gave me a thimble, man,” Dean told Cas, whispering gravelly into his ear.

            “A what?”

            “Thimble,” Dean repeated. “From Peter Pan.”

            Cas smirked and pressed a kiss into the corner of his mouth. “There’s another one.”

            Dean’s ears grew hot.

 

            Basically the walk back to the hotel was more of a run. After the ride, they both exited and stared at each other in the light, completely wrecked with pupils dilated and hair disheveled. One good look at each other and they were off without words or touching.

            They dodged people and would occasionally glance at one another, but that was all the communication they had.

            They finally entered the hotel and took the elevator up. Even though his mind was in a different place, Dean managed to hum to the shrill elevator music and maintain a walking pace down the hall to their room.

            But as soon as the card was in the door and it was shut behind them, Cas had his hands on Dean, pressing him gently against the door. His mouth was on him again and Dean wondered when in the hell Cas had learned to kiss this way because it was pro.

            Cas had Dean’s hands pinned against the door with his own intertwined with them. He was pressed chest to chest against him. Their breathing was erratic and both of their hearts were beating faster than normal, and there was a reason for it.

            “Cas,” Dean moaned into his mouth. Cas didn’t answer, but he continued anyway. “What…what are we doing?”

            Cas pulled away, almost looking hurt. Dean did not want that at all.

            “What do you mean?” Cas breathed out.

            “What are we doing? What do you want?” Dean asked him. He didn’t want this to get too out of control. He wanted to know what Cas was looking for.

            “You.”

            Dean blushed. “Um,” Dean stuttered. “D-do you mean…”

            Cas shook his head. “Not if you don’t want to. I do, but if you are not up for-.”

            Dean placed his hand over Cas’s mouth. “I do. God, I do. But here’s the thing,” Dean started, looking anywhere but Cas’s eyes. “I’ve…yeah, I’ve never done anything with a guy before. I mean, I’m pretty sure I know how to, but I’ve never _actually_ done anything.” Dean scratched the back of his neck. “Hell, you were my first guy kiss, too. But that’s the same with women, so.”

            Cas cut off Dean’s rambling by using his hand to bring Dean’s chin forward. Dean’s eyes were forced to stare into Cas’s.

            “That’s fine, Dean.” He smiled up at him. “I’m in the same boat. I have never done that either. Perhaps we should stick to kissing?”

            Dean stared into Cas’s eyes, which were so full of love and trust and comfort. They had no signs of sadness or past pain at all. They were vibrant and vast. Dean felt his heart beat like it never had with anyone in his life. Hell, he’d never been nervous having sex with anyone or even kissing them. And that had nothing to do with all of his past lovers being women. It simply had to do with the fact that they were not…well, his lover. His soulmate.

            Heat spread all over Dean’s body as he made a quick decision, staring straight into the other man’s eyes.

            “Fuck, Cas, I’ve loved you for a long time and have wanted you like this for a long time. I’m not going to back down because of a little fear. We’re in this together. I trust you.”

            Cas stared at Dean for a moment and then brought his mouth to Dean's. It wasn’t a ravenous kiss full of want, though he did want Dean. It was a simple, close-mouthed kiss, chaste and soft.

            “Okay,” Cas said against his mouth.

            Dean walked them backwards, guiding Cas while holding the small of his back in his calloused hand. Their lips were locked and foreheads touching. The back of Cas’s knees hit Dean’s bed and he was falling back, bringing Dean with him. They pulled apart to slide their bodies to the pillows and then Dean was pressing his tongue into Cas’s mouth again.

            His hands slipped under Cas’s t-shirt and slowly found their way up to his chest. Cas’s heart was beating wildly. Dean smiled against his mouth.

            “Are you nervous?” Dean asked Cas.

            “Obviously. So are you. In fact, your heart is beating at a greater beats per minute than mine,” Cas said. Dean rolled his eyes.

            “No facts during fun time, Cas,” Dean told him. “You’re so weird.”

            Cas glared at Dean, so he leaned down to kiss his neck. The angel suddenly stiffened and Dean smirked against the tight skin. He nipped at it and Cas hissed.

            Dean pulled away with a grin. “You’re squeamish.”

            Cas was obviously growing annoyed at Dean for his comments, so he decided to take the reigns. He held Dean’s hips and managed to roll him over swiftly. Dean’s green eyes widened and Cas smirked down at him.

            He slid his hands down the front of Dean’s t-shirt, fingernails lightly scratching as he went. Dean watched, biting the inside of his lip. Cas gripped the end of Dean’s shirt in his hands and looked to Dean for an objection, but found none. He slowly pulled the tee up and Dean helped him get it over his head.

            Dean was now shirtless. Scars littered his body, little blemishes that made up the flawless canvas that was Dean. Cas pressed his mouth to one right below his collarbone and the response was instant. Dean hissed and then bit down, his jaw tightening. Cas ran his hand against some other scars on his chest and abs and slid his hand over Dean’s nipple, making the Winchester moan.

            Heat made its way to Cas’s lower body and suddenly he needed friction. He involuntarily grinded into Dean and the hunter gripped Cas’s biceps in his hands, squeezing and sticking his tongue out. He bit his lip.

            Cas was uncomfortable now and he could tell Dean was as well. They needed less clothes and fast. Surprisingly, they were both getting through this without any awkwardness ensuing and Dean was shocked he hadn’t had a freak out yet. He knew he wasn’t going to either. He was comfortable with Cas and he trusted him in a way he hadn’t trusted anyone in a long time. He was ready for anything Cas had to offer and he was ready to give back, to show Cas how much he loved and appreciated him.

            Cas started fumbling with Dean’s belt buckle, and he couldn’t help but to huff out a laugh.

            “Okay,” Dean started, voice wrecked. “First off, this needs to go.” He held Cas’s shirt between his fingers. Cas nodded and allowed Dean to pull it off of his back. Dean threw it to the side. He studied Cas’s perfect figure and lack of any body blemishes, save for the freckles Jimmy had when Cas took his body. He was outstanding.

            Cas reached down and started to take off Dean’s belt again. His warm hand brushed against Dean’s lower belly and more heat pooled down there. Dean let out a deep breath. Cas finally got the belt undone and next went to work on Dean’s button and zipper. It was somewhat funny watching Cas struggle with something so monotonous, but he finally got it and was pulling Dean’s jeans down.

            Then Dean started to have a chuckling fit because Cas had forgotten Dean was wearing shoes. Cas slid off the bed and went to work untying Dean’s shoes as if Dean was an incompetent kindergartner, but it was hilarious nonetheless. Hell, the whole situation was awkward and funny. Dean’s pants were pooled around his ankles, his boxers tented, and he had an angel furiously untying his shoes while standing at the end of his bed.

            Cas made sure to kick off his own shoes before hopping onto the bed again. He unzipped his own jeans and slid them off, kicking them to the side of the bed. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Dean’s mouth.

            “This is where I am unsure how to proceed,” Cas whispered. Dean brought his hand up to Cas’s cheek.

            “I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” he offered. Cas grinned.

            Dean slid his fingers into Cas’s waistband and the angel burst into goosebumps. Dean smirked as he got the okay to continue. He pulled down Cas’s boxers and then quickly escaped his own so Cas wouldn’t feel exposed by himself for too long.

            Cas stared down at Dean. They were now completely nude and exposed, and yet Dean wasn’t at all questioning anything. He was nervous as hell, but that was because this was Cas and he wanted to make Cas feel loved.

            Shadows from the castle beams and lights bathed Cas’s face as he stared down at Dean from where he was sitting. His eyes twinkled.

            “Okay,” Dean said, letting out a little breath. “This is it.”

            He reached up to wrap his arms around Cas’s neck and brought him back down on top of him. Cas spread out and grinded up against Dean. He groaned and pulled Cas in for a kiss, squeezing his eyes shut as heat shot through his dick.

            “Cas…fuck, okay.” Dean tightened his jaw. “Were you thinking of…this, or something more?”

            Dean bit his lip. Cas reached down between them and took Dean’s length in his hand. Dean arched his back, his neck craning hard into the pillows. He let out a loud moan and tightened his fingers in the sheets as Cas started jacking him off at a very, _very_ good pace.

            Cas leaned down by Dean’s ear, momentarily stopping, which was torture to Dean, and whispered, “More, if you are okay with that.”

            Cas continued pumping Dean and the hunter replied with, “Fuck…yeah, definitely.”

            Somehow Cas knew to stop as Dean’s stomach was pooling with an excess of pleasure. Though he missed the friction of Cas’s hand against him, he was really grateful when Cas started doing the same thing to himself.

            Dean drew blood biting into his lip as he watched Cas.

            Cas was only into masturbating for a minute before Dean decided he might as well take over. He slowly sat up and placed his hand over Cas’s. The angel looked up and realized what Dean was doing. He removed his hand and Dean took his place, sending shivers up Cas’s spine, which led to an ecstasy-filled squinty face.

            When Cas was hard enough, he gently pushed Dean back down onto the bed by holding his shoulders. Dean relaxed into the pillows as Cas kissed his mouth one last time.

            “You don’t have any STD’s.”

            “No, I don’t think so,” Dean replied, biting his lip.

            “No, I’m not asking. I know you don’t have anything,” Cas said. He slid off the bed and walked over to his duffle bag, the lights shining in odd shapes on his nude body. Dean watched him intensely. He pulled something out of his bag and crawled back up over Dean, the only light from the window hitting his right eye that had a pupil blown wide. Dean grinned.

            "Did you want to be on top or...?"

            Dean shook his head. "You got this, Cas." He smiled trustfully.

            Cas nodded and Dean watched him squirt a generous amount of lube onto his hand. His eyebrow furrowed.

            “Where did you get that anyway?” he asked, amused.

            Cas answered him literally. “The Wal-Mart near the bunker.”

            Dean rolled his eyes. “Okay, why did you get it?”

            Cas smirked and brought his hand down to Dean’s hole, teasing the entrance. Dean hissed and gripped the angel’s forearms. He squeezed his eyes shut.

            “Because, not three hours ago, I was an angel pining for a hunter who wasn’t saying anything. Much like yourself only three hours ago, all I had was my hand.”

            Dean outright laughed and leaned his head back into the pillows.

            “Okay, touché.”

            Cas stared at Dean intently now, blue eyes serious.

            “Are you sure about this, Dean? Are you ready?”

            Dean nodded. “Yeah, Cas, I honestly am. Go ahead. Slowly.”

            Cas pressed his finger into Dean at a menacingly slow pace. It felt extremely uncomfortable at first, maybe a little unpleasant, but then Cas arched his finger and a fit of pleasure shot up Dean’s spine. That was curious. He told Cas to go on, so the angel repeated the action with his middle finger. This time, Dean was used to the feeling and somehow the pressure was starting to feel good, even as Cas stretched him out. He clenched Cas’s forearms a little harder now. Cas spread Dean's legs wider and looked at him, waiting for an invitation for the final finger. Dean’s throat closed so he nodded.

            The final finger added just the right amount of pleasure and when they arched in a certain way, pleasure jolted through Dean and he needed more.

            “Fuck,” Dean said. “Cas… more.”

            Cas smiled and slowly withdrew his fingers. Dean ached for that pressure again. He felt without.

            Cas slicked up his dick with more lube and leaned forward. He paused momentarily and placed a large, fluffy pillow under Dean’s lower back. Dean just wanted to tell him to get on with it, that he was comfortable. Finally, Cas slowly drew his cock to Dean’s entrance and hovered there for a moment, staring at Dean as if he would oppose any second. Dean nodded and Cas slowly pressed into him.

            This was way more than three fingers and it hurt a little more. Dean suppressed it by tightening his jaw. Cas noticed but Dean placed a hand on the angel’s lower back and said, “Keep going, Cas, I’m fine. I promise.”

            Cas continued, yielding a bit more. Dean’s eyes watered and Cas looked so wrecked, as if he’d hurt Dean.

            “Cas,” Dean said, his voice hitching. “Promise. M’fine. Give me a sec.”

            Dean let out a deep breath and stared into Cas’s eyes, holding his biceps in his hands.

            “Dean,” Cas started.

            “Yeah?” Dean asked him as Cas leaned closer to his face.

            “I love you.”

            Dean nodded. “You too, Cas. You can…you can move, by the way.”

            Cas looked weary, but Dean nodded. Slowly, Cas withdrew himself and Dean clenched his jaw, noticing the change in pressure. Cas, as gently as possible, pushed back into Dean again and…okay, that felt really good.

            Dean waited for Cas to repeat himself and found that, yeah, that felt great actually. In fact, he was still in pain, but there was a lot of pleasure that was overpowering the hurt right now.

            “Cas,” Dean said as Cas withdrew himself. “This feels...so good…”

            Cas slammed back into Dean and he let out a moan and a ‘fuck’.

            “You can pick up the pace,” Dean said. He pulled Cas down for a wet, open-mouthed kiss. The angel pounded back into Dean and he moaned hotly into Cas’s mouth.

            “You okay?” Cas asked.

            “Better’n okay,” Dean mumbled, biting his lip.

            Cas smiled and picked up the pace even more so. He took Dean’s dick in his hand and started jacking him off and Dean was overwhelmed with ecstasy. He arched his back and Cas slammed into him at the same time.

            “Fuck, Cas. So good.” Dean’s neck strained as ecstasy built up in his cock.

            Cas was muttering Dean’s name under his breath now, too. He was quickly coming undone at the same rate as Dean and muttering the hunter’s name under his breath was not helping Dean either. Dean was jotting that sound down in his memory, even though he’d probably hear it way more often.

            “Dean, I’m gonna-.”

            “Me too. Fuck.”

            Dean tightened his grip on Cas’s biceps enough to leave bruises as he came in the angel’s hand. Cas followed him over the edge a second later, filling Dean. Cas collapsed onto Dean and slowly pulled out of him.

            “Fuck, Cas. That was…honestly the best sex of my life,” Dean said. “Hands down.”

            Cas smiled. “Agreed. Although I don’t have much to go off of.”

            Dean chuckled. “I love you, Cas.”

            Cas stared down at him through heavily lidded eyes. “I love you, too.”

            “Is that weird coming from me?” Dean asked the angel.

            Cas nodded quickly as Dean adjusted so they were side by side with entangled limbs. “Absolutely. I’ve never even heard you say those words to your brother.”

            “That’s because I don’t,” Dean replied. “I think I’ve only ever said those words to my mom and to Charlie in our nerdy way.”

            “Why me?”

            “I love my brother, but because we are brothers, he knows it. He doesn’t need to hear it. You need to hear it because we aren’t related and I love you more than anyone else I’ve ever thought I’d loved. You need to hear it because you deserve to hear it.”

            Cas smirked and cleared his throat. This prompted a subject change. “Next time we do this,” Cas started, smirking, “we should have a casual conversation. I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose my voice.”

            Dean nodded. “Definitely. By the way, let’s get cleaned up. This stuff ain’t comfortable at all.”

            Dean rolled off the bed and held his hand out for Cas to take. He did so using his clean hand and then they were heading to the bathroom to hop into the shower.

            They wiped each other clean with soap and cleaned their hair, washing the sweat down the drain.

            They stepped out of the shower and Dean handed Cas a towel. Dean snorted.

            “What?” Cas questioned him.

            “I guess it was a good thing we got extra towels this morning, huh?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! I'm uploading this tonight...this morning? Eh, anyway, I'm uploading this to get it out there since it's been more than a week since I updated it. Sorry for the delay. I have been busy and have had writer's block, so it took me a while to write. 
> 
> I'm hoping to get this done sometime this week!
> 
> Enjoy! Comment and kudos and stay classy.

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh.

'Pooh,' he whispered.

'Yes, Piglet?'

'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. 'I just wanted to be sure of you'." -Winnie the Pooh

* * *

 

 

 

Dean was a little shell-shocked when he woke up a couple of hours later. He hadn’t had the greatest slumber due to his arm falling asleep and then an hour later he was freezing his ass off. Because he was hazy in the night, he hadn’t even thought about Cas lying on his arm, cutting off the circulation. He hadn’t thought of the possibility Cas grew stubborn because Dean was a blanket hog and that he had pulled them onto his side, restricting Dean from the warmth. He didn’t think about these things because the probability that Cas was lying right next to him seemed absolutely preposterous. And yet, there he was, his skin tightening with each deep, snoring inhale he took. Memories from last night flooded back into Dean and he couldn’t help but to crack a smile as he stared at two little moles placed close together near Cas’s spine.

            It was still dark outside. Dean couldn’t move to check the time, but he assumed it was around four thirty or five in the morning. He couldn’t hear the birds yet. He just listened to the white noise of the air conditioning in the room and the cacophonous snore and deep exhales coming from Cas.

            The angel was still pressed up against Dean, close enough their bodies were spooning, but far enough that Cas’s entire upper body hogged the blankets while Dean was only covered hip down.

            It was cold, Dean was naked and Cas was right there stealing Dean’s blankets, so Dean decided he would conquer them back and cuddle up closer to the angel now that their walls were down and everything was laid out on the table like some sort of miracle. Yeah, that actually happened last night. They’d spilled their guts to each other, when in any other circumstance mum was the word and the only slack they would cut themselves in their yearning was when they would stare at each other and bore into each other’s souls. Something Sam called ‘creepy’.

            Had they not been in Disneyland, away from the absurdities of the normal, horrific world, Dean was pretty sure Cas would be in his own room and Dean would be smirking at the snoring the angel was making through the walls, rather than taking the blankets back and crawling right into his personal space which was what he was doing now. Ironic, ain’t it?

            Cas stirred when he felt Dean’s warm torso press into his back. Dean stilled, his hand resting on Cas’s bare hip.

            “Dean?” Cas mumbled. Dean waited for a second, making sure he wasn’t sleep talking. When Cas turned his head and stared at Dean in his peripheral vision, Dean grinned.

            “Hey,” he replied. Cas shifted in the bed, using his hips to adjust himself so as to face Dean. Dean very carefully inched his own hips back, careful not to rub up against Cas.

            Cas gazed at him through lidded eyes. He had bags under them and the brilliant blue barely showed. Dean brought his hand up to Cas’s scratchy cheek because he could, and Cas leaned into it.

            “Hello, Dean.”

            “You stole the blankets from me last night.”

            Cas scooted closer to Dean, practically crawling into his skin and rubbing up against Dean’s lower body, defeating the purpose of Dean moving back in the first place.

            “Maybe you deserved it,” Cas said groggily and yeah, that went straight downstairs. Dean inhaled deeply.

            “I don’t think so. Not an hour before, you made my arm fall asleep. You’re a feisty sleeper,” Dean told him. Cas nestled his head into Dean’s neck, his hair tickling his chin.

            “Maybe we should get bunk beds,” Cas offered as Dean wrapped his arms around Cas’s body.

            “Do I get to be top?” Dean asked, innuendo sliding easily off his tongue.

            Cas leaned back and looked up. “No. I’d want the top. I like the idea of climbing a ladder to get to bed.” Yeah, that went completely over Cas’s head. Dean smirked and pressed a kiss into the mop of dark brown hair nuzzling his cheek.

            “You’re adorable.” Did that seriously come from his mouth? He was screwed. The only person he'd ever called adorable was himself. But there Cas was, basically crawling into Dean's skin, half-asleep, and he was absolutely adorable.

            Cas grunted in response.

            They laid there in silence for a couple of minutes. Dean closed his eyes and focused on Cas’s breathing, blowing away his long locks when they slid too close to his mouth.

            “Dean?” Cas broke the silence as soon as Dean was starting to get sleepy again.

            Dean smiled. “What’s up?”

            Cas shifted away from Dean to stare at him. His eyes were wide now and he had a crooked smile on his face.

            “I can help you with that,” Cas stated.

            Dean furrowed his brow. “With whaaa-?”

            Dean was cut off by a hand wrapping its way around his erection. If he wasn’t awake two seconds ago, he was now.

            Cas shifted up onto his elbow, gazing at Dean with a glare that seemed impossible to break. He jacked Dean off at an agonizingly perfect pace. Dean’s eyes rolled back into his head as he fisted the sheets, leaning his head deep into the pillow. Cas smirked. Dean wanted to tell him to wipe it off his face, that he was next, but he couldn’t get any words out. He bit his lip and decided this needed to be more fun than a quickie at five in the morning. Besides, he was always a giver, not a taker.

            Dean gripped Cas’s forearm, making Cas stop altogether and look at Dean with worry etched on his face. Dean leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of his mouth, assuring him, before rolling on top of Cas. Dean was starting to feel that absence of friction, so he indulged himself, rocking his hips down on Cas. The angel bit his lip, his eyes closing a fraction of the way as Dean pressed his lips to his neck. He kissed his way down the side to his collarbone. He ran his tongue over Cas’s nipple and the angel hissed as Dean smirked, loving the noises he was urging out of Cas.

            He then made his way down Cas’s stomach, kissing where he could and leaving goosebumps on his flesh. He shivered and Cas pulled the blanket up to Dean’s neck.

            “This alright?” Dean questioned Cas, hovering just over his hips, all intentions laid out on the table. Dean had never really done anything like this before, but he was willing to try. Especially to see the expressions and noises that would come out of Cas because of something he was doing to him.

            Cas nodded frantically, his breathing becoming more erratic. Dean ran a ghost of a hand down Cas’s hip and he arched up, longing for more friction. Dean licked his lips and slowly eased his way down. He experimentally licked under Cas’s dick and the angel bucked up so Dean pressed his hands into his hips. Cas’s chest was rising and falling quickly and his hand came down and rested in Dean’s hair.

            It was now or never, Dean supposed. He took Cas into his mouth and slowly went down, the feeling of something so large in his mouth foreign to him. He ran his tongue down Cas’s skin, causing Cas to tighten his grip in Dean’s hair as he moaned loudly. Blood rushed down to Dean’s cock. Damn, if that wasn’t the dirtiest noise he’d ever heard in his life.

            Dean started bobbing his head in a pace that had Cas curling his toes and muttering Dean’s name in a scandalous, gravelly voice under his breath. Dean let go of Cas’s hip with his right hand and went to work on himself as well because damn if this wasn’t turning him the hell on.

            Dean looked up at Cas through his lashes and watched him come apart. He was a hot mess and he had Dean to thank. Making love was one thing- the BEST thing, but shameless, dirty blowjobs in the morning were fun and…well, dirty.

            “Dean, I’m going to come,” Cas said, though it was stuttery, deep and airy. Dean took him all the way in his mouth once more before popping off of Cas and giving him a lazy hand job as he rode out his high. Dean came in his hand not a moment later, and then they were spent, tired and pleasured. Dean rested against Cas’s lower stomach, trying to regain some breath.

            Cas attempted to bring him up to his face, but Dean had to manually move. He scrunched his nose up in detest at the feeling of drying come but disregarded it in order to press languid kisses against Cas’s mouth.

            “Damn Cas,” Dean started, “you’ve got the sexiest voice, you know that?”

            Cas smiled. “Thank you.”

            Dean rolled his eyes and pressed his lips to Cas’s, parting his mouth and surging his tongue in. They stayed this way for a couple of minutes, content and pleased, until the drying mess on and between them was starting to gross Dean out.

            “How about a shower?” Dean offered. Cas nodded.

            “You know,” Dean said, standing up into the chilly air-conditioned room, “Walt Disney would be extremely disappointed in us.”

            Cas furrowed his brow, slowly rolling off of the bed. “Why?”

            “This is a place for kids from 6 to 60 to come and have fun and be childish and here we are having dirty sex in one of his hotel rooms, probably feet away from a family here to see freaking Lilo and Stitch or something.”

            Cas shook his head and honest to God started laughing. He passed Dean and made his way to the bathroom, his chuckling echoing. Dean followed him curiously and closed the bathroom door behind him.

            “What?”

            “You worry about the pettiest things, Dean,” Cas said, turning on the shower. “Walt Disney wanted kids from 6 to 60 to have fun, and we just did, did we not?” Cas questioned Dean.

            Dean pursed his lips, looking up in thought. “Technically yes,” he said, “but-.”

            Cas kissed Dean. “Walt Disney worked his magic and he doesn’t need to pry into our lives anymore now that his work is done. Besides, he’s probably too busy watching actual kids have fun in his park. Feel better?” Cas questioned Dean as he stepped into the hot shower, taking Dean’s hand and pulling him in with gentle force.

            “Actually yes, it does. He’s probably watching Sammy anyway. He’s been acting like a kid all week,” Dean said.

            “I’m happy for him. He can have the fun he’s missed out on for years and we can have the fun we’ve missed out on for years,” Cas said. Dean didn’t know if there was a better way to put that into words. He kissed Cas.

 

            They were showered and dressed in sweatpants, cuddling under the blankets. Dean would never admit he liked to cuddle, but it was one of his favorite things to do when he was in bed with someone. He especially liked it with Cas. The angel had wrapped his arms around Dean, their legs intertwined underneath the blankets. They had crappy hotel room coffee on the nightstand next to them and Cas had his chin resting on Dean’s head. They were watching _Peter Pan_ on the TV.

            It was at the part where Peter was in Wendy’s room and he was teaching the kids how to fly. They would soon be off to Neverland, following Peter to the land of kids where there would be no growing up. A kid practically kidnapping kids. _Kidnapping kids._

            Dean sat up straight, startling Cas who almost knocked over the coffees that were slowly growing cold. Dean pulled back the covers and rolled out of the bed to snatch the remote that had fallen on the ground when the two men were trying to get comfortable while cuddling. He muted the TV, antsy. Cas was obviously annoyed, but Dean ignored the adorable face.

            “Cas,” Dean started, pacing from the TV to Cas and back. “I had an epiphany, and it might sound outrageous, but this case is outrageous so why not think it?”

            Cas furrowed his brow. “What is it, Dean?”

            Dean let out a deep breath. “Okay, so Peter Pan steals kids, right?” Cas shot Dean a look. “Okay, so he _basically_ steals kids. Like, obviously not meaning to, but that's what he does. That’s not the point.” Dean shook his head and cleared his throat. “Maybe Peter Pan is stealing kids here. It makes sense…”

            Cas stood up slowly, trying to comprehend just what in the hell Dean was trying to say here.

            “Peter Pan, she was a female, right? The other day I said Peter was cute- the female actress? Maybe she is the mother. It’s like Sam’s ‘hidden secrets of Disneyland’ book. The mother is pretending to be Peter and she’s stealing kids. What better portrayal to do it?”

            Cas was following now, intrigued with the idea.

            “And then, remember last night when we saw that kid on the carousel and I ran to follow him and bam! He disappeared right by the frickin’ Disneyland ride? Cas, it all makes sense!”

            Cas nodded. “You make a good case, Dean. The woman who played Peter has been here for two days in a row as well. It would make sense. I still don’t understand where she takes the kids, though. And I don’t know why she doesn’t send her own children to their homes. Where do they go?”

            “To Neverland,” Dean joked. Cas frowned, so he continued. “I don’t know. But I KNOW it’s Peter. It makes sense.”

            Cas nodded. “I agree. Perhaps we should inform Sam and Claire and find Peter first thing this morning.”

            Dean agreed. “Yeah. Come on, let’s get dressed.”

            They dressed hurriedly and were out the door in no time. They knocked on Sam and Claire’s door at precisely seven o’clock. Claire was the one who ended up opening it, bitch face clear as day and eyes half-closed in sleepiness.

            “Are you fucking serious, guys?” Claire let them in and walked back to her bed. “Sam said we were sleeping in today. This is not sleeping in.”

            “I’m sorry, Claire,” Cas started, entering the room. “But we have some new information you and Sam need to hear.”

            Claire groaned and lay back on her bed. Sam stirred in his own and opened an eye. Dean smiled at his brother.

            “Hiya Sammy,” he said. Sam huffed angrily and covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow.

            Claire sat up and sighed. “What is it then?”

            “Sammy, you paying attention?” Dean asked. Sam grunted in response. “Okay. So Cas and I think we might have found the mother changeling.”

            Sam removed his elbow and stared at Dean, attention caught.

            “Dean intelligently came up with the idea that perhaps Peter Pan, the actress, is the mother changeling. Yesterday, the little changeling we chased disappeared behind the Peter Pan ride and the kids are being kidnapped, as is the way with changelings.”

             Dean blushed at Cas's compliment.

            “Why Peter Pan, though?” Sam furrowed his brow.

            “Peter Pan practically kidnaps kids so they can stay young. It’s kind of the same deal. And with the kid disappearing by the ride and the Peter character being portrayed by a woman actress two days in a row…it just adds up.” Dean waited for Sam to reply.

            “It seems plausible actually,” Claire said, standing up. “Yesterday I saw something odd.”

            All the boys averted their eyes over to her curiously.

            She looked down at her fingernails, picking at the black polish. “When Sam and I went on Alice in Wonderland, the woman behind me in line turned around and I saw a big hickey looking thing on her neck. Before I could get a good look, she turned around. I didn’t think much of it, but now that I think about it, I watched her come from Peter Pan’s Flight before she hopped in line for that.”

            “How big?” Sam asked her.

            Claire made a big circle shape with her hands and Sam shot Dean a knowing look.

            “I think you’re right, Dean. Let’s hurry up and get in there and stop this thing before it goes too far.” Sam pulled back the covers and passed them, heading to the bathroom. Claire looked up at Dean.

            “I guess that was probably information I should have told you, huh?” She seemed disappointed in herself. Dean wanted to tell her ‘duh’ in a sarcastic tone, but she’d never seemed so ashamed or caring before. He sighed.

            “It’s fine. Just remember for next time. If you see anything even remotely suspicious, let one of us know, okay?” Dean’s features relaxed and Claire nodded. She stood up and perused through her duffle.

            “I’m going to change,” she said. “You and Cas leave and we’ll meet you down there in fifteen minutes.”

            Dean nodded. “Sounds good.”

            He and Cas exited the room and went downstairs in silence. Dean was antsy to get out to the parks (even though they hadn’t even opened yet) and Cas was surprisingly calm next to him.

            Dean reached for his hand in the elevator and Cas turned to him, gazing at him with a knowing look. He squeezed Dean’s hand and released it when the doors opened.

            They waited on the comfy leather couches, watching an old Disney cartoon in the distance that the hotel set up for kids. This one had Donald Duck in it, and though it was humorous, Dean couldn’t laugh. He bounced his leg up and down at a rapid pace and Cas had to set a gentle hand on it to cease it. Dean looked at him.

            Cas smiled. “Dean, there’s no need to concern yourself yet. There have been no reports of death yet, the kids were all kidnapped, not killed, and it takes months for kids and mothers to die when they are fed on. It’s not the best case scenario, but it’s not the worst either.”

            Dean nodded, though he wasn’t sure the pep talk really helped him any.

            The tranquility definitely didn’t stay when he saw four officers walk through the building and over to the entrance to Downtown Disney. It absolutely didn’t help when they started yammering loudly about another kidnapping that happened last night. Dean’s hair stood on end and he was back to his uneasy state. It felt like a word on the tip of his tongue; the mother was right there, right through the gates to the park.

            And yet there was nothing he could do for another half an hour.

            Dean’s leg bounced once again. He scratched at the leather on the arm of the chair. The cartoons were forgone (they weren’t helping anyway) and any sign of movement around the lobby caused him to jerk. He was on edge and he wanted to go straight to the officers to tell them to let him in and do his damned job. Get it over with before breakfast.

            Cas placed his hand on Dean’s leg for a second time. Dean turned to him and looked him in the eyes. Cas had obviously heard the officers’ conversation, but he maintained a controlled attitude. Cas reached his other hand up to Dean’s cheek and locked onto Dean’s green eyes- practically in a trance.

            “Dean, listen to me, please. You need to find patience and control your thoughts. I know you are on edge, but you need to calm yourself down. We will be there in no less than twenty five minutes.” Cas licked his chapped lips and leaned into Dean, pressing them to his mouth in a chaste, simple kiss. He ran his hand back and forth comfortingly on Dean’s thigh and then retracted. Dean’s green eyes widened and Cas smiled crookedly.

            “Thanks Cas,” Dean whispered groggily. He took a deep breath and slid his hand into Cas’s, wanting more relief from his tense state. Cas squeezed his hand and brushed their shoulders together.

            Not five minutes later, Sam and Claire were walking towards them, ready to take on the day. Sam had his gun in his pants, though he knew the only way to kill a changeling was by fire. It was an extra precaution.

            Dean and Cas stood up, hands apart now. They’d seen Sam and Claire heading over to them and mutually, without words, decided to let go.

            “Hey,” Claire said. “Sorry we took a bit longer. Sam couldn’t find matches.”

            Dean shrugged and started walking. Cas nodded to Sam and Claire and followed shortly behind Dean with Claire and Sam after.

            Dean was practically jogging, but they all kept up. There was ten minutes until they could head in, but by time they reached the actual gates they would be allowed to go in. Dean wanted to be one of the first in so he could book it for Fantasyland and knock the flying fuck out of Peter.

            They had to wait for five minutes in line, much to Dean’s dismay, but they passed people on the inside, walking way too fast for the average person’s morning.

            Fantasyland was practically deserted when they arrived. The rides were moving and a handful of people were on each, but for the most part it appeared barren. The only Disney character they saw was Cinderella and they’d used their reflections to look around and found jack.

            Dean suggested taking a look around Peter Pan’s Flight, just in case they missed something. Sam and Claire took one side and Dean and Cas took the other. They had no idea what the hell they were looking for and each came up empty handed as expected.

            They decided to get on the ride, then. Dean told them to look around in the darkness and search for clues, ignoring the attraction of it all. He wanted them to pay attention behind the scenes. This would be easy to do with a flashlight because no one was in line and thus there would be no disturbing other people.

            Dean and Cas hopped on first, followed by Sam and Claire. They turned on their flashlights and peered at the machinery holding them up from below. Dean shined his light behind the crocodile and Smee and all through London, though everything appeared normal. And that really pissed him off.

            They exited the ride, all of them with the same knowledge they had as before they'd gotten on. The park was starting to crowd with the resort-goers and rides were filling up. The Queen of Hearts and Alice and the Mad Hatter had joined the character list, but there was still no Peter. Dean slumped on one of the garden benches and Cas, Sam and Claire crowded around him.

            “When in the hell will she be here?” Dean said, not really questioning anyone. He was just angry and he wanted to let it out.

            “Patience,” Cas repeated as before. Dean blew out air.

            Sam shifted from one foot to the other. Dean stared down at his brother’s shoes. He had no idea what to do except wait, and that wasn’t good enough in his book. The case really pissed him off because there wasn’t supposed to _be_ a case in the first place, and he was worried about all the little kids who were (hopefully) somewhere together, crying for their parents.

            Sam cleared his throat. “You know what?” Dean, Cas and Claire looked up at him. “This is bullshit. We lie for a living, Dean. We cheat and get the job done.”

            Sam reached in his back pocket and pulled out his FBI badge.

            “Come on,” he said.

            Dean sighed and muttered, "Fuck." 

            When Sam furrowed his brow in curiosity, Dean grumbled, “Left it in the car.”

            “Huh?” Sam questioned his brother, leaning down.

            “I left mine in the car. You’re going to have to do it yourself.”

            Cas patted down his jeans and pulled out the FBI badge he’d been given by Dean and smiled. Dean squinted his eyes at Cas, the sun blinding him.

            “I have mine. Sam and I will find out where this actress is supposed to be.”

            Dean nodded, now more pissed than ever that he’d left his FBI badge in the car. In his defense, they were supposed to be on vacation.

            Cas squeezed Dean’s shoulder reassuringly and then he and Sam meandered off to look for an employee. Claire plopped down next to Dean, letting out her own peeved sigh.

            “I want an FBI badge,” she said, starting up some small talk. Dean turned to her, staring at her disbelievingly for a moment.

            “You’re eighteen,” he said.

            “So.”

            “No offense,” Dean started, “but that’s a little young to be, y’know, fake fighting for the law and such.”

            Claire shrugged. “I can look older. It’s all about the outfit.”

            Dean glared at her.

            “I mean,” Claire eyed Dean up and down. “Take you for example. This outfit makes you look like a mid-twenty year recluse who lives in a shitty apartment and only likes the same kind of music.” Dean scrunched up his nose. “But when you wear, for example, a Henley t-shirt and your less scuffed up jeans, you look like a sexy, well-mannered dude.” Dean pursed his lips, confused as to how this conversation came up again. “And then when you wear your suits, you look like an old man with money on his mind. If I bought a pencil skirt and a nice button down blouse and some heels, took off my make up and spent an hour on my hair, then I, too, could look old.” She smiled at Dean. “Like I said, it’s all about the outfit.”

            Dean’s mind was wrapping around her analysis of his outfits and age, so he finally came to a simple conclusion.

            “We’ll get you one when you turn nineteen.”

            “What difference does that make?”

            “You’re one year older to the drinking age.”

            “Wow, that makes so much more sense.”

            “Shut up.”

            “Mature.”

            There was a lull in the conversation. Dean had his elbows resting on his thighs and his chin rested in his hands. He watched kids running around with parents on their tails. He made himself dizzy by staring at the rides whizzing monotonously in circles.

            Claire punched Dean in the arm. He instantly sat up straight and gripped it. That hurt like a mother.

            “Jesus, what?!” Dean said, glaring at her harshly. Claire ignored him in favor of pointing towards Snow White’s ride.

            “There,” she said.

            Dean followed her finger and found a girl dressed in all green with a little pointy hat and a red feather sticking out.

            “ER AH ER AH ERRRR!”

            The woman (portraying Peter) made a cone around her mouth with her hands and wailed Peter’s rooster call. Children and teens heard the call and ran towards the sound, ready for autographs and pictures with the character.

            Dean smiled. “Good eye.”

            He stood up, motioning for Claire to follow. Yeah, he’d leave Sam and Cas in the dust, but this was the opportunity they’d needed.

            Claire kept up with Dean’s speedy pace. They weaved through people and dodged kids running towards their favorite rides.

            There was a long line backed up for pictures with Peter. Dean and Claire stopped near the ride, waiting.

            They’d obviously have to get her away from families. Take her somewhere in the back, question the monster about the kids, and burn her to the ground. That would be the difficult part.

            Dean crossed his arms and took out his phone to text Sam and tell him they’d found the changeling. Sam didn’t answer, so Dean assumed he hadn’t felt it vibrate or he was in a conversation with an employee.

            It became evident, as the line dwindled with people, that maybe he and Claire would have to take this thing down themselves. Neither Sam nor Cas was answering and Dean had no idea where they’d gone off to.

            Dean turned to Claire.

            “New plan,” Dean said, reaching in his pocket to make sure Ruby’s knife was still there. “Sam and Cas aren’t answering so it might just be you and me taking this thing out.”

            Claire swallowed and nodded.

            “Changelings are one of the easier things to gank, if that makes you feel any better.” Claire glared at him. Dean shrugged.

            “We need to take it somewhere secluded, tie it up, question it, find out where the kids are and then kill it. Changelings only die by fire. You kill the mom, you kill is children.” Dean caught Claire’s gaze. “Normally the children of the mother go to the homes of the kids she kidnapped and feed off their mother, but this one isn’t doing that for whatever reason. The mother feeds off the human kids, too. Good thing about them, though, is they kill slowly. Takes months for someone to die by being fed on.”

            Claire nodded, taking in the information.

            “You think you can do this? You did a good job the last case we had. I think you’re tough enough to handle this one.”

            “Damn right I am,” Claire commented.

            Dean smiled crookedly and nodded. “Atta girl. When she starts walking away, we follow.”

            Dean patted down his pockets and mentally scolded himself. “Shit.”

            “What?” Claire asked him.

            Dean looked at her. “Don’t have matches. Didn’t think to ask Sam.”

            Claire smirked and reached into her pocket, tossing Dean a box. “I’m kind of a pyro.”

            Dean praised the girl in his mind and stuffed them in his jeans. “That’s creepy but extremely convenient right now. Thanks.”

            Claire shoved him.

 

            They waited a good half an hour before Peter started to wade through the hordes of people towards the ride named after her. Dean and Claire stealthily followed behind, careful to stay far enough away so she wouldn’t notice.

            Peter nodded to some kids pointing at her and headed towards the tall fence near the ride. He motioned for Claire to speed up, and then they were running after her.

            She closed door behind her, the door locking in place. Dean cursed and reached into his pocket for his lock-pick.

            He glanced around before leaning down and prodding inside the lock. Claire kept an eye out for any employees or odd gazes. People seemed too preoccupied with the rides to even notice.

            A minute later, Dean had the door unlocked and he and Claire were slipping into the secret lair of the employees.

            Dean should have known it was too easy, but as soon as they stepped in, Peter was on them. It was dark and she popped out of nowhere, slamming Dean’s head into the wall. He fell to his knees as Peter turned to grapple with Claire. The teen seemed to be holding her own though. Dean heard Claire grunt in response to a hit, but then he heard a body slamming into a wall and Peter’s pained voice.

            Though Dean’s head was pounding, he stood up and reached into Claire’s pocket, pulling out her gun. He dodged the dark shadow figure and turned, grabbing Peter with one hand and hitting her on top of the head with the butt of Claire’s gun.

            Peter slumped down to the floor and lay there, motionless. Dean’s heavy breathing mixed with Claire’s. He handed her gun back and reached down to bind Peter with the zip ties he kept in his lock-pick case. So yeah, he was semi-prepared.

            Dean stood up and turned to Claire. Though he could only make out her silhouette, he smiled at her. “Nice work, kid.”

            Claire muttered a thanks and something about how her lip was going to be fat in a couple of minutes.

            Dean reached down and took Peter into his arms, throwing her over his shoulder.

            “Flashlight?” Dean asked. Claire fiddled around in her pockets before pulling out her tiny light.

            They made their way through the tunnel and found an empty room on their right. It had clothes in it and it definitely hadn’t been used in years. It smelled musky and dirty and it had original posters of some of Disney’s first movies, and cartoons spread around the walls.

            Claire shined the light around the walls, looking for a light switch. They found one to their left and Dean flicked it up. The lights fluttered a couple of times before fully coming to life. A buzzing sound becoming the white noise ambiance of the room.

            Dean’s eyes adjusted to the room and his demeanor instantly changed. He set Peter on the ground in order to run over to his brother and Cas.

            They were sitting on the opposite end of the room by makeup mirrors and outfits. They had their hands tied behind the chairs and their heads drooped in sleep.

            Claire made to tie Peter up in one of the old, vacant chairs near her while Dean leaned down between his family.

            “Sammy? Cas?” Dean looked up at them. They were definitely breathing, which was the best news he could hope fore. He did notice, when he stood up, that Sam and Cas sported matching suction marks on their necks. Dean fisted his hands and took a deep breath. He rounded them and used Ruby’s knife to cut them from the ropes that bound their hands.

            He made his way to the front of Sam and used his hand to push back on Sam’s shoulder.

            “Sammy, hey. Wake up.” Dean snapped in front of his brother’s face. When that did nothing, he slapped his brother’s cheek with enough force to disrupt him, but not enough to hurt him.

            Sam slowly became conscious. He whined and inhaled deeply before peeking through his eyelids.

            “Sammy, come back to me, man,” Dean said. Sam stretched out his muscles and widened his eyes even moreso. He reached his hand back and covered the suction mark with his hand and hissed.

            “Damn,” Sam muttered, stretching out his jaw. “That hurts.”

            “Yeah, you’re gonna be fine,” Dean told him. He patted his hands on his brother’s knees and stood up. “Untie your ankles when you come to.”

            Dean shifted to his left and placed a hand on Cas’s cheek. He used his other to press back on Cas’s shoulder.

            “Cas,” Dean said, almost sweetly. “Cas, wake up.”

            Cas shifted a little. Dean leaned forward and pressed his lips to Cas’s ear. “Wake up, Cas. Come on, man.”

            Dean ran his cheek along Cas’s as he withdrew from him.

            “Dean,” Cas mumbled under his breath. “Don’t go.”

            “I’m right here, Cas. Open your eyes.”

            Dean brushed his thumb against his cheek and Cas’s eyes fluttered open a second later. Dean smiled at him.

            “Hi.” Dean watched as Cas came to, his eyes fully opening and his obvious discomfort at the mark on his neck.

            “Hello, Dean.”

            Dean pulled his hand away and reached down to untie Cas’s ropes on his ankles.

            “Dean!” Claire exclaimed.

            Dean stood up abruptly and turned around. Peter was waking up. Claire had her zip tied to the rungs on the back of the chair and to the legs as well. Her gun rested in her hand at her side.

            Dean took one last look at Cas to reassure himself before shuffling over to Peter.

            Sam and Cas followed a second later, still a little stiff and in pain from the suction mark and position they were in.

            Dean stood in front of Peter, knife tightening in his hand.

            Peter became concious a minute later and, upon noticing her bonds, frantically struggled to get out of them. Claire smirked next to her. And yeah, she must have taken a nasty punch to the mouth because blood trickled out from it and her lip was beginning to grow.

            “Get me out!” Peter hissed, wriggling around in anger.

            Dean smirked. “No can do, Peter. See, you’ve kind of pissed me off.”

            Peter stopped struggling and stared at Dean. “I didn’t do anything to you, Winchester.”

            Dean pursed his lips. “Yeah, not personally.” Dean started walking. “But you did ruin my vacation. I haven’t had one in…well, ever, and you decided you’d fuck it up for me. And my family.”

            Peter smirked. “I’ve been here for a while, boys. You happened to show up and throw yourself into the mix. I have nothing to do with it.”

            Dean shrugged. “Either way, you’re still here and you ain’t supposed to be. So why don’t we get down to business, eh?”

            Sam stepped up next to Dean and Peter spat blood from her mouth.

            “Where are the kids?” Sam asked gently. Dean turned to his brother.

            “As if I’d tell you,” Peter said, her eyes widening. “Nice interrogation.”

            Dean took a step closer. “Okay, tell me this, then. Why the hell are you not sending your children home with the mommies and daddies of the children you decided to feed on? You too nice, or what?”

            At this, the corners of Peter’s mouth turned down. She glared at Dean, obviously furious. “I have orders not to.”

            Dean grinned and leaned forward. “Ah, so we have a leader now, do we?”

            Peter clenched her jaw.

            “What’s the matter? Need to go on a diet or something?”

            Peter glared. “You could say that.”

            Dean eyed Sam, who shrugged.

            “Who are you working for?”

            This time it was Cas who stepped up to the plate. Peter turned her glare to Cas and spat out, “Your pal, the Darkness.”

            Dean retracted, shocked. He turned to Sam and his brother stared back at him, annoyed. Cas continued his interrogation.

            “Let me guess,” he started, “she wants you to save your victims for herself. She must have offered you something in return.”

            Peter huffed. “Not really. A place by her side. I was forced. I comply or I die, simple.”

            Cas turned to Dean, who pursed his lips in thought.

            “Okay,” Dean said after thinking for a second, “then explain the suction mark Claire saw on a woman yesterday. If you aren’t feeding, why did she see it?”

            Peter sighed. “I can withhold myself, but my kids need to feed. I didn’t send them to households because She wanted the family members for Herself, but I can’t control them here. They go after random people.”

            “And us?” Sam questioned, motioning to Cas.

            “A little snack for me,” Peter said, smirking.

            Dean shook his head, trying to piece together the conversation.

            “So the Darkness is using you and possibly other monsters for her own will, and in turn you get to live and be apart of her army, basically?”

            Peter nodded. “Basically.”

            “Sounds fun,” Dean offered.

            Peter smirked. “Joyous,” she said sarcastically. “Look,” she started, “I’ll tell you where the children are, but in turn you have to kill me.”

            Dean was taken aback. Normally monsters didn’t negotiate the whole ‘suicide’ thing. You know, being soulless and monsters and all.

            “Why?” Sam asked after Dean was rendered speechless.

            “I die, my kids die, we are free from Her path.” Peter sighed. “I was keen on wreaking havoc myself with my own agenda, but the Darkness is rendering me hungry and on a tight leash. I don’t have my own free will.”

            “How many monsters is she recruiting?” Cas asked. Peter turned to him.

            “As many as she can get. Some willingly, some not.”

            “What for?” Sam butted in.

            “For whatever she needs them for. I don’t know, I was low on the totem pole. I’m a changeling for fuck's sake,” Peter said. She sighed. “All I know is the Darkness is preparing for something big, and she is taking all of us with her, whether we like it or not.”

            Dean looked at Sam and then to Cas.

            “Where are your kids?” Dean questioned her.

            “They walk around and feed on people in the outskirts. But when they aren’t, they’re usually under Peter Pan’s Flight. That’s where all the human children are, too.”

            Dean widened his eyes. “You kept them down there?”

            “Yes. I had nowhere else to put them. Yesterday they tried to escape by cutting off the electricity of the ride. They were smart. My children stopped them, though.”

            Dean turned to Cas, who replied with a face of worry.

            “They aren’t dead, though?” Dean asked.

            Peter rolled her eyes. “Of course not. Remember, I had to save them for the Darkness?”

            Dean let out a deep breath. “It’s ironic I’m asking because I am planning on killing you anyway, but you really want to off yourself?”

            Peter nodded. “I’d rather be free than under the Darkness. Hell, I’m evil, but she’s…worse than that. She scares me.”

            Shivers ran up Dean’s spine. He bit his lip, somewhat feeling bad for what he was about to do.

            “Any other information we should know?”

            Peter shook her head. “That’s all I know. Since we’re swapping formalities, I wish you good luck on stopping Her.”

            Dean huffed a laugh at the irony of a monster wishing him actual luck.

            “Thanks,” he replied. He nodded to Claire who swiped a match against the wooden chair Peter was sitting on and tossed it in her lap.

            Peter caught fire quickly and she screamed before bursting into a bright orange flame and turning to dust. Sam rounded the makeup tables and props and yanked an old fire extinguisher from the wall. He sprayed it on the flames licking up nothing on the chair, and all memory of the monster was gone.

            Dean turned to Sam.

            “Fuck.”

            Sam nodded in agreement and they took a minute to reel in all that had happened before Cas pointed out that they needed to go and save the children.

 

            It was easy to find out how to get into the machinery parts of Peter Pan’s Flight, but it was a bit harder to find the children. They were in a far corner and were locked in a cage near the electrical wires. Dean assumed this was how they attempted to get out.

            Claire had anonymously called the police and informed them she’d found the kids underneath the ride. After that, they had approximately five minutes to get the kids out and explain to them what had happened and where to wait for their parents. Then Dean, Sam, Cas and Claire escaped from the limelight so as to avoid any questions and publicity.

            They watched from afar as the kids (whom they’d told to wait patiently by the bench near the ride) ran into their parent’s arms. People around the area watched, confused, as to what was going on. Dean was honestly shocked the kidnappings hadn’t gone into the tabloids or anything. Either way, it was nice to see the kids return to their parents.

            Before they’d arrived, though, Dean and Sam had to briefly inform them they were going to be alright and that the kidnapper was going to jail. The kids, luckily, hadn’t seen the changeling children feeding off of people, so they were still kept in the dark.    

            They would need a whole lot of counseling, though.

            Once all the kids were safely back with their parents and the news people (who had gotten word of the kidnappings) showed up, Dean, Cas, Sam and Claire all headed for California Adventures. It was time for a change in scenery.

 

            They’d done a bunch of rides in California Adventures. That was the place with the massive rides and Dean was in a mood that allowed him to go on the enormous Mickey Mouse roller coaster.

            He immediately regretted it after, and so did the garbage he’d thrown up in.

            They spent the entire day there, ignoring the lingering Darkness questions that had evaded their minds. They were still on vacation and they needed to act like it. Everything was normal, the monster of the week was killed, and they still had this final day to spend in the parks.

            They stayed together the entire time. Dean was sure it was for reassurance. They’d all been a little shaken up by this case and the new information brought to light, and they needed to revel in each other’s presence and just know that they were there.

            Dean stuck to Cas’s side the entire day. Cas did as well. If they so much as walked a couple of feet apart, Cas would close the gap and wrap his hand in the fabric of Dean’s t-shirt, just making sure Dean was still there. Dean understood. They needed each other now more than ever.

 

            That night they went back to the other park to watch the fireworks for the last time. They paraded through Main Street with turkey legs in their hands and rounded the statue of Walt and Mickey to find a nice spot to watch the fireworks.

            The parade started and they could barely see it. Dean was okay with it this time. He was done with characters and he knew he’d never be able to watch _Peter Pan_ again.

            Sam and Claire stood in front of Dean and Cas. Everyone turned towards the castle after the parade, awaiting the much anticipated fireworks show. Claire and Sam were excited to see the fireworks, especially after a day like today. It was a good way to wind down. Dean agreed.

            Dean peeked over at Cas as the music started up, cuing the beginning of the show. He locked eyes with Cas, the emotion and troubles of the day so evident in each of their eyes and yet so happy with each other. Dean reached for Cas’s hand and the angel squeezed it. They leaned into each other, arms touching. Cas rested his head on Dean’s shoulder as the fireworks started up and the projection on the castle started playing.

            They watched in silence, taking in the same show they’d seen and still hadn’t gotten enough of for the past three days. Dean’s heart beat fast. He couldn’t believe how astonishingly blissful he felt while being here with his family. With Cas. He had everything he needed and everything that could make him feel this way even when turmoil surrounded him.

            The show was winding down from what Dean could remember, when Cas leaned up to Dean’s ear and randomly said, “I love you, Dean. Thank you for taking me on a vacation.”

            Dean dropped his eyes to Cas's, staring deep into the magnificent blue. The finale of fireworks exploded and reflected in them, the reds, greens and whites swimming in the black of Cas's lust-blown pupils. Dean leaned down and kissed Cas on the mouth, ignoring anyone around them who might disagree with his choice. He loved Cas so much and being with him was the one thing he needed right now. It didn’t matter what horrors they were facing out in the real world. He was stronger with Cas by his side as his best friend and lover.

            Dean deepened the kiss, forcing his way into Cas’s mouth, needing to be closer. He didn’t know when he’d started to cry, or even if the wetness sliding down his cheeks were his tears, but he didn't even care. If they were his, they weren’t from sadness in the least bit. And if they were his, it would make sense. Because Dean only cried in moments of pure melancholy or absolute contentment. 

            People started to disperse from the area since the show was over and Dean and Cas were making a scene, but they themselves didn’t move. They were glued to this spot, to each other. Dean fisted his hands in Cas’s t-shirt and Cas had his hands on Dean’s cheeks, his thumbs wiping away Dean’s tears. So they were his, then. Normally, Dean would be embarrassed by this, but his walls were down here. He could worry about it later.

            They pulled apart when it was getting difficult to breathe. They stood close, memorizing each other. Cas still had his hands on Dean’s cheeks and Dean continued to fist Cas’s shirt, as if to never let him go. They were breathing hard and Dean’s eyelashes were long and wet from crying, but he felt at peace.

            They heard a throat clearing, which brought them out of their own little world.

            Sam and Claire were staring at them, Claire having obviously taken a picture in shock. Sam had a lopsided grin on his face, his eyes happy but awkward. Claire had a full on grin and wide eyes at the scene.

            Dean bit his lip.

            “Can we help you?” Cas questioned and Dean had to let out a snort at that. Sam’s smile turned into a laugh and Claire captured the moment on her phone.

            Sam shook his head. “I’m not going to ask. But congratulations.”

            The younger Winchester nodded to Dean who answered anything Sam was questioning with a simple smile. That was all Sam needed.

            “Should we head back to the hotel?” Sam asked after a moment.

            “I think so. I’m tired,” Cas said. Dean straightened out the creases in Cas’s shirt and then slid his hands down his arms before letting go of one and taking Cas’s hand in his own.

            They all made their way back in a line, Sam talking to Cas about some of the Easter Eggs in Disney and Dean next to Claire in silence.

            Well, for a little while.

            When Cas was enraptured in his and Sam’s conversation, Claire leaned into Dean.

            “I told you. I called it. You listened to me and you’re welcome,” she said.

            “You didn’t call anything,” Dean said. “You just told me I had feelings for Cas and I refused to accept them. You called nothing.”

            “I told you to go after him and I had faith in you. I knew you would get with Cas because deep down you could see how much you needed him. And now you are with Cas, and I called it.” Claire winked at Dean and he rolled his eyes.

            “So, when did you get together then? Just now?”

            Dean looked up at the sky, trying not to answer with sarcasm. “Last night. Any other stupid questions?”

            Claire nudged Dean with her shoulder. “No, no more questions. Congrats though. I mean, it’s weird seeing you make out with an imposter of my dad, but I can tell it’s Cas just by the way he…well, IS.”

            Dean nodded. “Yeah, he’s his own being, no matter what vessel he’s in. I’d love him anyway, I think.”

            Claire raised her eyebrows. “Love him, huh?”

            Dean blushed and she reached down and took his free hand in her own.

            “That’s good. I’m happy you went for it, Dean. You deserve each other.”

            “You’re holding my hand,” Dean commented. She bitch faced.

            “Don’t ruin it,” she said. “And don’t bring it up ever again.”

            She let go, but Dean could still feel the warmth of her hand and he knew she cared. She was family.

            Dean turned to Cas and watched him talk to Sam.

            He leaned in and whispered in Cas’s ear, “I love you.”

            Cas shivered and looked at Dean from his peripheral vision, a smile creeping onto his face. Dean was absolutely, completely at ease.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola people! I decided to add an epilogue-ish chapter to this. It has nothing to do with Disneyland and could be a completely different story altogether, but I liked this established relationship, so I continued from this story.  
> Don't worry, it's not like a completely new story. It contains mentions of Jody and Donna, Dean and Cas have the same established relationship...well, just read it! It is nearly Christmas, after all.
> 
> As for this chapter, I hope it was some closure, even if it was a little short!
> 
> Thank you to all who read this! I hope you enjoyed it, and I wish you well as you continue on to other fanfictions.
> 
> Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and what have you!

"For who could ever learn to love a Beast?" -Beauty and the Beast

 

* * *

 

Dean took Cas’s hand as they waited outside the resort by the car park. It was eleven o’clock and he was exhausted. In fact, he and Cas had slept in until ten (a rarity for Dean) and had to shower and pack quickly to be out of their room before checkout. Sam had to knock on the door to remind them twice.

            Claire and Sam stood next to them, both quiet. Dean thought it was most likely because it was the end of their adventurous, hectic and pleasurable trip. Claire was on her phone, snapping her gum. Sam tapped his fingers against his leg in a tedious sort of way, yawning as he did so. None of them were really in the mood for talking, as the only thing they could talk about were the memories of the past couple of days. And that was just plain depressing.

            Yet, so was the latter. They could talk about the Darkness. None of them wanted to converse about that either. So, they stood in silence.

            The valet drove the Impala in front of them at a speed Dean could tip the driver for. He took good care of Baby, so when he got out, Dean handed him a crisp twenty and let go of Cas’s hand to round the car, running his hand over her sleek coat.

            He felt good to get back in Baby. Luxurious leather couches and vibrating mechanical carnival rides meant fun, but Baby was home. He sighed into her leather as Sam, Claire and Cas placed the bags in the trunk. Dean had simply thrown his in the middle of his seat and the passenger side.

            Sam decided he would take passenger side while Claire and Cas slid in next to each other. Dean pushed a cassette into the player and they were off on the stretches of road.

 

            “So you and Cas, huh?” Sam questioned after about an hour in silence. Dean had reveled in it, actually. He liked the sound of rocks popping under his tires and the entrancing white noise of the asphalt whizzing by underneath him.

            Dean smiled at the road and shrugged.

            Cas and Claire were both asleep in the back and Dean was pretty sure he hadn’t heard Cas say one word today. That was fine. They’d shared a lot of facial expressions that spoke for themselves.

            “I think it’s great, Dean,” Sam offered. Dean blushed and glanced over at his brother.

            “Yeah, you and Claire were trying to push it,” Dean said, snorting.

            Sam shook his head, his long hair flopping back and forth. “No, Claire did all that. I told her my opinion and she took that as her cue to interfere. Trust me, if I was going to interfere, I would have done so years ago.”

            Dean furrowed his eyebrows. “Years ago?”

            “Dean, seriously?” Sam rolled his eyes. “You’ve had your eyes on him for a long time. Whether or not you noticed.”

            “I noticed,” Dean mumbled.

            Sam bitch faced at him. “Are you serious?”

            Dean nodded. “Didn’t do anything about it for multiple reasons.”

            Sam leaned back into the leather, groaning. “Dude! I had to put up with a shit ton of tension between you two for years, and you’re telling me now it has all been sexual!”

            Dean shook his head. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, I never said that.”

            “It’s implied. You stared at him so intently- I didn’t know if you were in a trance or what. And all the fighting and joking and skirting around the issue. All I needed was some popcorn,” Sam joked.

            Dean took his turn to roll his eyes. “Ha ha, Sam. Hey, we’re together now so you can quit yer bitching.”

            Sam chuckled. “It’s fine, dude. I’m happy for you. You and Cas are…well, let’s just say I’ve never seen you as happy as you were in Disneyland, and it wasn’t the park that was doing it.”

            Dean smirked.

            “Do I have to give him the whole, ‘If you hurt him’ speech?” Sam asked.

            Dean snorted. “No, please don’t. That’s ten levels of embarrassing.”

            Sam nodded. “Exactly. Gotta get you when I can!”

            “Don’t you fucking dare, Sammy,” Dean commented.

            Sam shook his head. “I won’t.”

            They sat in silence for a couple of moments, staring at the vast nothingness playing through the windshield like a movie on the silver screen. Dean was cruising at a nice sixty-five, ten below the speed limit. He was enjoying the leisurely cruise with Zep as the silent soundtrack in the background.

            “So a couple of weeks ago when I asked you if you thought about finding someone who understood the life, you lied?”

            Dean smirked. “I lied.” Dean looked up to think about it and then continued, “Well, okay, technically I lied. When you said finding someone who understood the life, you meant ‘find’ and I already had Cas, so. I didn’t have to find him. I just had to act, and obviously a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t going there.”

            Sam stared at Dean. “You lied.”      

            “Okay, I lied.”

            “What changed your mind?” Sam questioned his brother.

            Dean shrugged. “I don’t know. Being away from all the bad shit in our lives, a little persuasion from Claire. Cas. A mix of things.”

            “You guys deserve each other. You both deserve to be happy. Honestly, the only time I’ve seen Cas completely normal and generally happy is when he is with you.”

            Dean shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d go so far to say I deserve love, but Cas does. I don’t understand why he likes me in the first place. I’m extremely tainted by all that has happened to us for years and years and I can be an asshole. I have a hard time letting out my feelings and secrets, as you know. I don’t know. I’m nothing special. For whatever reason, though, he does.”

            “He loves you, Dean. You don’t have to worry about anything. Except maybe excessive smothering,” Sam said. Dean pressed him to the passenger door with his hand.

            “Shaddap.”

            Sam chuckled. “Well Dean, you were in the place of magic and fairy tales and dreams come true, after all!”


	11. Fall On Your Knees

_Fall on your knees, oh hear the angels' voices. O night divine!_

* * *

 

 

December 24th:

 

            Dean downed the contents of the amber colored liquid in his tumbler. He winced as it slid down his throat and then stood up, heading to the kitchen for more.

            It was Christmas Eve and somehow he’d pissed Sam off about the Darkness…he was pussyfooting around the subject and his experiences with her. And he was pissy about Sam’s fake dream premonitions and now they had this new information that Amara was God’s goddamned sister.

            It was only a couple of hours ago that Sam got fed up with it and took the keys to a car in the garage. He’d written a note to Dean (as he was sleeping) telling him he was driving to South Dakota to lay low with Jody and Donna for a little while. Dean was pissed, but Sam was a grown up and he could make his own decisions.

            The only thing was, it made Dean lonely and furious on Christmas Eve.

            And he was lonely because his other half had flown away when Dean had finally revealed the secrets he’d kept in for a while. Cas texted Dean after flying away, saying he was mad and that he still loved Dean, but he needed to be away for a while to think about it.

            At the time, Dean was fine with it. He hadn’t told Sam yet so his brother was still there with him. Finally he pried it out of Dean when Cas was gone for two days with no explanation whatsoever.

            Apparently he’d gone to Jody and Donna’s, too.

            Whatever, Dean could deal. For three years before Sammy joined the hunt he’d spent Christmas by himself.

            There wasn’t any whiskey in the kitchen and that was a disappointment. There was some fancy ass wine Sam had bought a couple of months ago and there were some beers in the fridge, but what good would those do?

            Dean sighed and opted to make a sandwich. He could turn on the TV and watch an old Christmas cartoon or something. He could make it Christmas without family. Hell, college students did it all the time.

            Dean turned on the Christmas tree that they'd put up a week prior in the library. They had a TV in there now since Cas was keen on all three of them watching together, which was hard to do on one queen sized bed in a tiny room.

            Dean ate his sandwich while watching _Frosty the Snowman,_ but halfway through he couldn’t take it anymore.

            It was fucking _Christmas!_ That was the time when families got together, not separated. Yeah, it was his damned fault and he would take the blame for all of the secrets he’d kept. There was no reason to keep them in the first place. He was just a stubborn asshole who thought about the repercussions that would happen if he’d told them right away, rather than imagining months from that time how they would react.

            But it was Christmas. He didn’t want to be alone on Christmas. There were presents under the tree and no one to open them. Cas had made Christmas sugar cookies a couple of days ago and they were sitting in the cookie jar, uneaten.

            Dean left the room, leaving _Frosty_ on, and marched into the main room. He pulled on his boots and Carhartt jacket and stomped up the stairs. He entered the chilly air and instantly a shiver went down his spine. It was snowing, but barely. It was too warm to stick, but it was enough to leave water droplets on his freckles and coat.

            He stared up into the sky. It was a clear night. His breath came out in little puffs of smoke that seemed to wind through the air to the bright stars against the black canvas. There were no clouds or fog and the snow was quiet as it fell and hit the dried ground and his face. Everything around the bunker was silent. Dean could hear his own heart beating.

            He fell to his knees, dirt and snowy water caking them. He closed his eyes and dropped his head. He folded his hands in a prayer form.

            “Cas,” he mumbled, his voice shaking a little with the cold. “Cas, please come home. I know I upset you and I’ll let you yell at me until you’re blue in the face, but I need you…I need you here with me for Christmas. I don’t care if we don’t talk at all. I need your company. And even though I’ve done a bunch of shitty stuff, I still love you. I know my mistakes and I promise- I swear to God I will never do it again. Even if it hurts you to know. Please, Cas, come home.”

            Dean opened one eye, peeking around the area. He waited for a minute, looking left and right and up into the sky.

            “Please,” Dean whispered, his voice hoarse.

            Dean heard the flapping of wings and he turned to his right. Cas stood by the stairs to the bunker door in a pea coat and winter hat and gloves (most likely courtesy of Jody and Donna). He stared down at Dean, kneeling in the dirt, hands still crossed. He grinned, which was completely unexpected.

            Dean stood up, unsure of what Cas would say to him. He wondered if Cas would fly off into space again. He wiped off his knees and stared into Cas’s blue eyes, waiting.

            “Hello, Dean,” Cas said.

            “H-hi, Cas,” Dean offered. “Merry Christmas.”

            Cas rolled his eyes and walked towards Dean, who froze. The angel wrapped his arms around him, warming him up from the inside out. A smile crept across Dean’s face as he realized Cas wasn’t going to run away from him or yell at him.

            “Merry Christmas, Dean,” Cas whispered in his ear.

            He pulled back and stared at Dean for a moment before leaning in to kiss him. His lips were chapped and snow melted on their faces, leaving their cheeks and nose red, but they were happy to be with each other again.

            Cas pulled away and Dean held on to the lapels on his coat.

            “Cas, I’m sorry,” Dean said, his expression falling.

            Cas shook his head. “Not now, Dean. I have forgiven you, but there is still much we need to talk about. We can save that for later, though. For now, I want to make some hot chocolate.”

            “Absolutely,” Dean said.

            They walked into the bunker hand in hand and left their wet boots and apparel by the stairs. They meandered into the kitchen, helping each other boil milk and put excess chocolate into oversized mugs.

            When they both had their hot chocolate they made their way back to the library. The movie Dean was watching had finished and now they were playing _A Christmas Story._

            Dean turned to Cas, who had just finished covering them up with a blanket.

            “Thank you,” Dean said. Cas turned to him, furrowing his brow.

            “For what?”

            “Coming home,” Dean said.

            Cas nodded. “I was planning on coming home, anyway. I wanted to spend Christmas with you. No matter how mad I am at you, Dean, I will always come back.”

            Dean blushed and nodded.

            “Sam left,” Dean said.

            Cas nodded. “I know. Jody and Donna told me. You must understand why he left.”

            “I know. I realize why, and I don’t blame him.”

            Cas smiled. “He will be fine in a couple of days. He is, however, missing out on a great Christmas.”

            Dean beamed. “He is.”

            Cas leaned into Dean and kissed him, pressing his tongue in. He tasted like peppermint candy canes and chocolate and Dean realized just how much he’d missed Cas these past couple of days.

            “I missed you.”

            “I know the feeling,” Cas replied against his lips. “I love you.”

            “I love you, too.”

 

            They ended up in Dean’s room, clothes strewn about the floor and desk. They’d started off ravenous, like they’d been deprived of each other for forever. Technically, it’d been two days, but it seemed like that long. But as soon as their clothes were off and they were under Dean’s warm comforter, they took it slow, studying each other and bringing ungodly noises to each of their mouth's.

            Cas made sure to kiss every inch of Dean’s skin, making him tremble under his touch. Dean let him, wanting to feel Cas’s praise and love as marks on his skin.

            He then took his turn. He whispered praises as he bit down on Cas’s collarbone and pressed gentle lips against the skin on his hipbones.

            They made love, sweet and slow, taking time to hear the moans escaping each other’s mouths and feeling the trembling they had throughout their entire bodies.

            Dean came inside Cas, pressing a kiss to his jawline, a string of “I love you’s” escaping his mouth in a molasses sort of way. Cas came after, pressing a kiss to Dean’s mouth and wiping away the sweat on his hairline.

            They laid in Dean’s bed for minutes after, staring at the ugly grey ceiling in silence. Their hands were clasped and they were breathing hard. Sweat caked their bodies and the come dried between them, but this time they were too blissed out and tired to get up and move.

            “Is that my Christmas present?” Dean asked, breathily, after a couple of minutes.

            Cas huffed a laugh. “One of them.”

            Dean smiled and sat up. He told Cas he was going to get a washcloth and he tossed it to the angel when he got back.

            While Cas cleaned himself off, Dean went over to the record player sitting on his desk. It was old as hell, but Dean loved it. He rifled through the records in one of the drawers and found an Andy Williams Christmas album. He set in on the record player and placed the needle on the outer edge.

            _O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior’s birth._

Dean rounded the bed and slid in next to Cas, pressing him up against his stomach and wrapping his arms around his torso. They wound their legs together and stared at each other, off and on, as they were exhausted.

            _Fall on your knees, oh hear the angels’ voices, oh night divine!_

Dean, with his eyes closed, huffed a laugh. “If only they knew that angel’s voices were extremely ugly. That would be the least divine night.”

            He peeked one eye open and Cas had a smirk on his face, his blue eyes piercing Dean’s.

            “But my human voice is something you enjoy, right?”

            “Your human voice could stop wars, Cas.”

            Cas kissed Dean’s forehead. “Good night, Dean.”

            “Love you,” Dean mumbled, breathing growing heavy.

            “I love you, too. Merry Christmas.”

           

 


End file.
